Lawrence High forward Jasmyn Turner hadn’t shown the public her three-point shooting prowess all season. But her girls basketball teammates insisted Turner – who spends most of her time roaming the paint and snagging rebounds – had one of the best shots on the team.

Wednesday night, Turner finally revealed what the rest of the Lions knew all along. She really can stroke from distance. All it took to fire away was a little nudging from her teammates – and a comfy fourth-quarter cushion against Olathe North in the opening round of sub-state play – as Lawrence blew away the Eagles, 74-42.

“I normally don’t shoot,” Turner said. “A lot of people have been telling me to do it more, so I was open, and I shot it.”

Turner attempted and missed her first three of the season with a 33-point lead and 61â2 minutes left, drawing a bewildered look from LHS coach Kristin Mallory. Not to be deterred, she followed that up minutes later with her first long-range make this season.

“If at first you don’t succeed, I guess you take another one,” Mallory said. “I even thought she was going to pull the trigger on a third one.”

It simply was that kind of night for the Lions: a night in which six players scored in double figures and the only suspense was whether or not LHS would double Olathe North’s point total.

All the talk of a poor practice the previous day dissipated just 16 seconds in when senior Danielle Bird buried her first jump shot to put the Lions in front to stay. The next eight field goals of the quarter came inside the paint for LHS, which ended the game for all intents and purposes by the second quarter.

Olathe North’s smaller lineup struggled to keep pace, committing 26 turnovers before its season came to a close.

Lawrence, meanwhile, is peaking at the right time. Following a mid-season lull in which the Lions lost three of four games, they now have five consecutive victories. That’s more victories than the Eagles (3-18) have amassed in their last three seasons combined.

“I think we’re playing our best basketball now,” Mallory said. “We’re playing even better than we were at the beginning of the year because we’re executing our sets.”

Guard Haley Parker made all six of her shots to lead LHS with 16 points. Taylor Bird and Tania Jackson each had 12, Turner and Danielle Bird finished with 11, and Cassie Potter added 10.

Lawrence (17-4) will remain in its home gym for the sub-state championship to face Olathe Northwest (13-8) with a state tournament birth on the line. Tipoff is set for 7:45 p.m. Friday.