It was a tale of two halves for Lawrence High’s girls basketball team on Thursday in the first round of the Firebird Winter Classic.

In the first half, nothing went right. The Lions improved in the second half, but their uneven play wasn’t enough to keep up with Wichita Heights in a 61-51 loss at Free State High.

The Lions trailed 35-11 at halftime, going scoreless in the second quarter with 10 missed shots and six turnovers.

“We came out and we did not play hard,” LHS coach Jeff Dickson said. “We did not compete. That’s 100 percent my responsibility. That’s my job. So any shortcoming we had tonight is 100 percent on me.”

In the first quarter, the Falcons made five of their first six shots for a quick 12-3 lead. Every time the Lions tried to make a run of their own, they had a defensive breakdown, giving the Falcons layups or open three-pointers. Junior Athena Alvarado led Heights with a game-high 20 points.

“It was just lack of energy,” sophomore guard Olivia Lemus said. “It just seemed like we didn’t come out ready. But, we definitely picked it up in the second half.”

After a quick talk by Dickson and senior point guard Marissa Pope in the locker room at halftime, the Lions immediately responded.

With a new lineup — Pope, Gracie Reinsch, Devon Spoonhunter, Emma Bentzinger and Asia Goodwin, the Lions (1-9) opened the second half with a three from Pope and improved defense.

“We needed to shape up and play like we can play, because that was not the team that we’ve been all year,” Pope said of her halftime message. “It’s very frustrating, especially because we’ve had two weeks to practice, and get everything locked in. Then we just come out and don’t convert the way we’re supposed to.”

The Falcons (7-4) took a 30-point lead midway through the third quarter before the Lions went on a 14-6 run to end the period. Lemus drilled two threes and sophomore Skylar Drum made another triple to get their bench fired up.

In the fourth quarter, the Lions opened with a 16-4 stretch with seven points from Pope, six points by junior forward Alexis Boyd and a three from Lemus, cutting the score to 56-46 with 3:23 left. However, the Lions couldn’t pull any closer.

“As the game went on we were able to figure it out a little bit and understand what it takes to compete at this level against a good opponent,” Dickson said. “So you saw what I see in practice every single day. Our job going forward is I need to do a better job of drawing that out of our team from the tip.”

Lemus led the Lions with 15 points from five three-pointers. She’s averaged 11.3 points in the last three games.

“I just relaxed and I’ve had more confidence with my shot,” said Lemus, who shot 5-for-6 from deep. “I guess I’ve just been flowing with it.”

Pope and Boyd added 14 points each, while senior forward Matia Finley had a team-high 10 rebounds to go along with two points.

The Lions will face Wichita Northwest at 4:45 p.m. today.

LAWRENCE (51)

Olivia Lemus 5-8 0-0 15, E’lease Stafford 0-3 0-0 0, Marissa Pope 6-9 0-2 14, Matia Finley 1-2 0-0 2, Alexis Boyd 4-8 6-6 14, Skylar Drum 1-6 0-1 3, Madison McKinney 0-1 0-0 0, Devon Spoonhunter 1-4 0-0 2, Gracie Reinsch 0-4 0-0 0, Rebecca Finley 0-2 0-0 0, Asia Goodwin 0-0 1-2 1, Emma Bentzinger 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-47 7-11 51.

WICHITA HEIGHTS (61)

Tania Lowe 0-2 3-5 3, Analyss Benally 3-14 0-1 8, Athena Alvarado 10-12 0-2 20, Daliyah Watson 2-4 0-2 4, Jaelynn McLaurian 5-9 2-3 14, Trinity Conley 2-4 1-4 5, Samauria Powell 2-3 2-2 6, Dymond McElrath 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 24-49 9-21 61.

Lawrence 11 0 19 21 — 51

Heights 20 15 17 9 — 61

Three-point field goals: Lawrence 8-15 (Lemus 5, Pope 3, Drum); Wichita Heights 4-16 (Benally 2, McLaurian 2). Turnovers: Lawrence 19, Wichita Heights 7.