Lawrence High's Taylor Bird gets the ball in the post during Friday night's game against Shawnee Mission Northwest, Dec. 19, 2008.

Even with two of last year’s full-time starters on the bench in street clothes, the Lawrence High girls basketball team proved Friday that, with three all-state-caliber guards, things still can be pretty easy.

“When the Big Three are on and take care of the ball, it’s usually a pretty good outcome for us,” LHS coach Kristin Mallory said.

Such was the case Friday, as the Lions (2-3) jumped all over SM Northwest early and coasted late for a 51-36 victory at LHS.

The Big Three — Taylor Bird, Haley Parker and Jasmyn Turner — scored 20 of the Lions’ 29 first-half points, swiped two steals apiece during that stretch and took their team into the locker room with a 16-point lead. For the game, they finished with 34 points, 14 rebounds, nine steals and seven assists. But it wasn’t just their play that paced the Lions to victory. It also was the way they got their teammates involved.

“Lately, we haven’t been real team-oriented,” Bird said. “But if we get excited about passes and rebounds and screens as much as we do about scoring, it just helps the entire team so much. Just being happy on the court helps so much.”

There was plenty to be happy about during Friday’s 15-point runaway. In addition to getting what has become typical production out of her top players, Mallory also got great minutes from the rest of her lineup. Abbie Ramos scored four points, Jordyn Tolefree added six, and April Miller finished with three points and a team-high seven rebounds.

“I thought April played terrific tonight,” Mallory said. “She played big inside and grabbed some huge rebounds.”

Next up for the Lions is a road date with Free State at 6 tonight.