The Lawrence High Lions were all smiles after picking up their first win of the season over Wyandotte, 52-12, on Monday evening at LHS.

As the final seconds ticked off the clock on Monday night, Lawrence High girls basketball players had wide smiles on their faces, as their hard work finally showed some positive results.

The Lions earned their first victory of the young season with a 52-15 rout over Kansas City (Kan.) Wyandotte at LHS.

The victory was even sweeter after a home loss to Shawnee Heights on Friday, 45-41, when the Lions had a lead until the final minute of the game.

“I was really happy. We’ve been on the borderline of getting a win for a while now, so it felt good to actually get one,” senior point guard Marissa Pope said. “I think we needed it a lot. The last game, it crushed our confidence. But this game built it right back up.”

The Lions (1-3) sprinted to a 15-0 lead midway through the first quarter, as Pope scored six points by slashing past her defender to the hoop. Freshman wing E’lease Stafford added a three, sophomore guard Skylar Drum scored on a coast-to-coast layup following a steal, and junior forward Alexis Boyd had a pair of layups.

Sophomore guard Olivia Lemus added back-to-back buckets later in the quarter, helping to give LHS a 23-3 advantage to end the first quarter. Wyandotte (0-3) shot 1-for-12 from the field in the period.

However, in the second quarter, the Lions looked sloppy with six turnovers in the first five minutes and poor shot selection.

Those types of plays left LHS coach Jeff Dickson, who picked up his first win as coach of the Lions, wishing his team played more smoothly despite its lead.

“As stupid as it may sound to hear me say, we’re not a team that’s chasing wins,” Dickson said. “We’re trying to get better. We want to put ourselves in the best position once we start getting into league play. While we’re never going to complain about winning games, that certainly wasn’t the focus tonight. The focus was playing well as a team and trying to improve.”

The Lions started quickly in the third quarter, with five points from Stafford, who can fire away from deep and beat her defenders off of the dribble, and a layup by junior Devon Spoonhunter. LHS also went on a 10-0 run over the last four minutes of the period, with points from Lemus, Boyd and seniors Matia and Rebecca Finley.

Boyd scored a game-high 10 points, and Matia Finley led the Lions with 11 rebounds.

“I was wanting to score,” said Boyd, who also had five rebounds and a block. “I was looking in, I was doing more moving around instead of just standing in one place and being lazy.”

After a lopsided game, which included a running clock in the fourth quarter, the Lions just hope to build on it for the future, especially with such a young squad.

“It’s big on building their confidence and teaching them how to win,” Pope said of the varsity newcomers. “At this point, I don’t really think they know how, but it helps with the young ones a lot.”

LHS will face Free State at 5:30 p.m. Friday at FSHS.

Lawrence (52)

Skylar Drum 3-10 0-0 6, Madison McKinney 0-5 0-0 0, E’lease Stafford 2-3 0-0 8, Marissa Pope 3-5 3-4 9, Devon Spoonhunter 2-6 0-0 4, Matia Finley 1-5 1-2 3, Alexis Boyd 5-7 0-0 10, Olivia Lemus 3-4 0-0 7, Talima Harjo 0-3 0-0 0, Rebecca Finley 1-4 0-0 2, Gracie Reinsch 1-2 1-2 3. Totals 22-54 5-9 52.

Wyandotte (15)

Mariha Burton 1-4 1-4 3, Chong Yang 2-4 0-0 5, Diarra Pledger 2-21 0-0 4, Bryanna South 0-6 0-0 0, Monique Hunt 0-1 1-4 1, Eryka Thompson 1-6 0-0 2, Allyssa Johnson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 6-43 2-8 15.

Wyandotte 3 4 7 1 — 15

Lawrence 23 7 17 5 — 52

Three-point goals: Lawrence 3-7 (Stafford 2, Lemus); Wyandotte 1-5 (Yang). Turnovers: Lawrence 13, Wyandotte 15.