Lawrence High senior Brittany Ray holds the ball high against three Olathe North defenders on Friday night at Lawrence High School. LHS won the game, 48-30.

Before Friday’s game against Olathe North, Lawrence High girls basketball coach Nick Wood told his team it needed to be the aggressor.

The team that wouldn’t back down.

The team that wanted it more.

Wood certainly saw what he wanted in the Lions’ 48-30 trouncing of the Eagles on Friday night at LHS.

“We came out, we brought the energy, we kept them off the boards,” Wood said. “So I’m proud as heck of them.”

After scouting the Eagles, the LHS coaching staff realized the Lions needed to control the glass to win. The Lions won the rebounding battle 30-15, with a lot of the Eagles’ rebounds coming late against Lawrence High’s reserves.

The score wasn’t really indicative of how Lawrence played, especially in a stretch after halftime when the Lions went on a 21-5 run and didn’t look back.

The final outcome was mostly a product of the Lions’ 2-2-1 zone press. The Eagles had 30 turnovers, including 19 in a frenetic first half.

“At halftime, we realized that we had a really good first half, but we needed to continue to bring the energy and put a whole game together,” Wood said.

The third quarter wasn’t pretty offensively. The Eagles scored the first field goal of the quarter but couldn’t score again. The Lions (3-3) only put up seven points in the quarter, but they continued to apply pressure.

Seniors TaMiya Green, Rachel Kelly and Emily Peterson deflected several passes apiece. Green grabbed nine rebounds, and Kelly and Peterson each scored 11 points to lead the way.

Wood was even able to clear his bench late in the game, something he hasn’t been able to do in the Lions’ first two close victories. The younger players turned the ball over a lot — “That was a long 21?2 minutes,” Wood said — but he was still happy to get them into a varsity game.

“They deserve it,” Wood said.

The Lions play next at 7 p.m. Monday at Shawnee Mission North.