The Lions did it before. Can the Lawrence High’s girls basketball team do it again?

A few days before Christmas, coach Kristin Mallory’s team spilled Free State High, 47-39, in the LHS gym. The rematch will be tonight.

“The fact we’re both guard-heavy,” Mallory said, “makes it a good match for us. It will probably boil down to which guards shoot better.”

Tipoff will be at 6:30 p.m. in the FSHS gym.

Free State has been on a roll. The Firebirds (12-7) are riding a five-game win streak and are guaranteed the No. 3 seed in next week’s Class 6A Topeka High sub-state.

In fact, the ‘Birds could very well play host to the Lions again next Wednesday in a sub-state first-round game. Lawrence High (9-10) will likely be the No. 6 seed. The only way the Lions can climb to fifth would be to defeat the Firebirds and hope Leavenworth loses.

Lawrence High’s leading scorers are senior guards Drew Huff and Sydney Wilson while junior guards Lauren Kimball and Jenna Brantley top the Firebirds’ scoring list.

In the first meeting, Wilson drilled four three-point goals and finished with a game-high 20 points. Huff added 11. Meanwhile, Kimball and Brantley were in foul trouble and settled for 9 and 5 points respectively. Both eventually fouled out.

Forward Kelsey Harrison led the Firebirds that night with 17 points. Both teams struggled at the free-throw line. The Lions made only 16 of 30 charities and the Firebirds 15 of 28.

The X-factor could be Danielle Bird, a 5-foot-9 sophomore who has evolved into the Lions’ third scoring option. Bird posted only two points in the first meeting, but had missed practice most of that week because of illness.