Lawrence High's Chisom Ajekwu (45), Olivia Lemus (2) and E'lease Stafford (40) have some fun on the bench in the waning seconds of the fourth quarter of their game against Topeka West Monday evening at LHS. The Lions controlled the game from the opening tip and easily defeated the Chargers, 50-24.

Disappointed from a loss last week, Lawrence High girls basketball players were determined to make up for it Monday in their home opener.

The Lions, wearing new home white uniforms, were dominant defensively and passed the ball around on offense, cruising to a 50-24 rout over Topeka West at LHS, which included a running clock in the fourth quarter.

In the locker room, the Lions celebrated by blasting the song “All I Do Is Win” by DJ Khaled.

With three games this week, it was exactly the way the Lions wanted to respond after losing, 70-51, to Shawnee Heights on Friday, trailing by as many as 30 points.

“We did not play well Friday,” LHS coach Jeff Dickson said, “so to come out and play better team basketball — move the ball, run our offense and do a better job offensively — it feels good to have that kind of turn-around.”

The Lions (2-2) jumped to a 16-1 lead in the first quarter, using missed shots to create offense. Freshman Chisom Ajekwu, junior Skylar Drum and senior Gracie Reinsch all scored on putbacks in the period before Drum, sophomore E’lease Stafford and senior Alexis Boyd hit shots in the final minute.

Lawrence had nine scorers in the contest, led by Stafford, who finished with a game-high 12 points. Ajekwu added eight points and four rebounds.

“That was one of our main focuses today — sharing the ball and getting everybody touches,” junior guard Olivia Lemus said.

The Lions shot 40 percent from the floor (23-of-57) and grabbed 16 offensive rebounds.

On defense, the Lions suffocated the Chargers (0-3) with their defensive pressure on the perimeter, jumping passing lanes to snag steals. Lemus, Boyd and Stafford grabbed three steals apiece.

“We’ve been turning over the ball a lot, then we just wanted to make other teams do it, instead of us,” Lemus said. “We just flipped the script on them.”

The Lions had a 10-0 run over four minutes in the second quarter, with four points from Stafford. The sophomore came off of the bench Monday but is one of the most experienced LHS players after starting nearly every game last year.

“I see myself as a upperclassman, being a leader to them,” Stafford said.

In the third quarter, freshman point guard Hannah Stewart, Boyd, Lemus and Stafford contributed to a 12-4 run in the first 5 1/2 minutes. In the final minute of the period, freshman Leslie Ostronic added a baseline jumper off an inbounds pass.

“We didn’t pick up our second win until January 30th last year,” Dickson said. “Here we’re sitting on December 14th, that’s a whole different ballgame for these girls. We’ve been a little disappointed with how we’ve started out. But to continue work to hard in practice, now we’re starting to see some of the fruits of our labor.”

The Lions will travel to Kansas City (Kan.) Wyandotte at 7 p.m. today.

TOPEKA WEST (24)

Fherrin Manning 0-5 2-6 2, Sydney Watkins 0-3 1-2 1, Kelsey Bowers 0-5 0-0 0, Sierra Smith 0-1 0-2 0, Lauryn Davis 1-4 5-6 7, Addison Donahue 1-2 1-2 4, Savannah Guy 1-3 0-0 2, Alyssa Gentry 1-2 0-0 3, Alanna Walker 0-3 0-0 0, Riley Zook 2-3 0-0 5, Gabriella Rivera 0-0 0-1 0. Totals 6-31 9-18 24.

LAWRENCE (50)

Hannah Stewart 2-6 0-0 4, Olivia Lemus 2-6 2-4 6, Skylar Drum 2-4 0-0 4, Emma Bentzinger 0-2 0-0 0, Chisom Ajekwu 4-6 0-0 8, Alexis Boyd 3-7 0-0 6, E’lease Stafford 5-11 1-2 12, Talima Harjo 1-2 0-2 2, Gracie Reinsch 2-6 0-0 4, Leslie Ostronic 2-3 0-0 4, Asia Goodwin 0-3 0-2 0, Sammy Williams 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-57 3-10 50.

Topeka West 1 8 6 9 — 24

Lawrence 16 16 14 4 — 50

Three-point goals: Topeka West 3-12 (Donahue, Gentry, Zook); Lawrence 1-8 (Stafford). Turnovers: Topeka West 20, Lawrence 7.