PRAIRIE VILLAGE ? None of the Lawrence High girls basketball players knew why Shawnee Mission East’s fans threw change at the Lions late in the game Friday night.

Maybe the Lancer faithful were chipping in for the Lions to buy a pizza after their 72-63, double-overtime victory at the East gym.

“I know Megan picked one up when she was about to shoot a free throw,” LHS senior Cherrale Ricks said of teammate Megan Klingler. “I heard stuff hitting the floor, and then I saw people on the bench going to pick it up.”

The Lions certainly earned a good meal with their effort. They got contributions from everyone who played, erased a 12-point deficit in the final seven minutes of regulation, eked their way into a second extra period and slammed the door on East with a final 9-0 run.

“It isn’t about who does it,” LHS coach Kristin Mallory said. “It’s about getting it done, and the girls really proved that tonight. Everybody stepped up and made big plays for us tonight. We lost some games early where we weren’t smart with the basketball, and tonight we proved that we’ve learned.”

Nothing came easy early, though. East hit five three-pointers in the first quarter alone. LHS tried to match the outside play but fell behind by double-digits.

Forcing the ball to Ricks and Klingler inside brought the Lions back.

“Coach Mal was saying if we spread the ball to the corners and looked in to Cherrale and Megan it would be wide open, and it was,” senior guard Jodie Cochrane said.

Suddenly the Lions quit getting pushed around and started bullying to the basket and the free-throw line.

Ricks scored on putbacks and layups, Cochrane drained a three, and Erin Knight fired an inbounds pass to Klingler for a wide-open layup that capped a 12-0 run and forced overtime.

East had a chance to win when Brooke Jandl went to the free-throw line with no time left on the clock after a questionable foul call against LHS, but she clanked both free throws.

That’s when the money-throwing began, but it never fazed the Lions. Klingler hit a pair of charities, Ricks completed a three-point play and Drew Huff nailed her free throws down the stretch.

Klingler finished with 17 points and 16 rebounds for LHS. Cochrane and Huff added 14 each. Jennifer Franklin led three Lancers in double figures with 16 points.

Shawnee Mission East 76, Lawrence High boys 50

For a half, the Lawrence High boys hung with Shawnee Mission East without the assistance of its sometimes lethal three-point barrage.

The Lions (4-14, 2-8) hit just four of 21 treys in the first half, but still kept things close and trailed the Lancers by just six at halftime.

LHS never heated up from long range, however, and East (13-5, 6-3) continued to pound away with its vertically gifted front line. Eventually it became too much for the Lions to handle. East used an 18-4 run to pull away at the end of the third quarter and coasted to victory.

Lawrence was just six for 32 from long range, and shot just 24 percent (16-for-66) from the field. Meanwhile, East utilized its size advantage inside and shot 30-for-58 (52 percent).

J.D. Christie, East’s 6-foot-5 forward, led all scorers with 28 points, and 6-6 forward Ryan Hintz added 10.

Joe Crane led LHS with 14 points, and Taylor Parker added 11.

The Lion boys and girls each play Tuesday at Olathe North.