Olathe ? In a game full of momentum swings on Friday, Lawrence High’s girls basketball team was on the wrong side of a big one in the fourth quarter against Olathe Northwest.

Shots stopped dropping for the Lions and free throws bounced off of the rim. On the other end of the floor, the Ravens caught fire for a few minutes and the Lions couldn’t recover in a 55-52 loss at Olathe Northwest.

The Ravens (7-9, 1-6 in Sunflower League) scored on their first seven possessions of the fourth quarter, turning a three-point deficit into a 50-43 lead. Northwest freshman Erika Boeh scored six points in the stretch fighting for layups in the paint.

With plenty of sharpshooters on the perimeter, the Lions couldn’t provide as much help defense in the paint, which led to layups and putbacks.

In the final four minutes, the Lions cut their deficit to three points twice, but couldn’t find a way to even the score. With 10 seconds left, they had the ball with a chance to tie, but never attempted a three-pointer when the ball was batted around in the post.

“The game and the fourth quarter were all on me,” LHS coach Jeff Dickson said. “I did a poor job of putting the girls in a position to be successful and Olathe Northwest took advantage of it and had a big run.”

The Lions led by as many as seven points in the second quarter, playing aggressive defense on the perimeter and jumping passing lanes. Junior Olivia Lemus and sophomores Talima Harjo and E’lease Stafford all finished with at least three steals.

At times, missed shots were the best offense for the Lions. Freshman 6-foot-3 center Chisom Ajekwu scored a game-high 18 points on 9-of-15 shooting. She completed a double-double with 11 rebounds, using her height to pluck the ball above her opponents and toss it back into the basket.

“Chisom is really coming along and is a special player,” Dickson said.

At other times, the Lions (7-9, 1-6 in the Sunflower League) were creative on offense. In the final minute of the third quarter, sophomore guard E’lease Stafford tossed an inbounds pass off of her opponent’s back and turned into a layup-and-the-foul bucket.

Stafford added 12 points and five rebounds while sophomore guard Talima Harjo scored eight points and dished three assists.

Trailing by six points in the final 30 seconds, the Lions forced two steals in the backcourt to keep their potential comeback alive. But they missed their final three shots after Ajekwu made a layup and couldn’t force overtime.

“Our kids settled down and I’m so proud of the way they battled back,” Dickson said. “But I should have done a better job of helping them be in a good position to win.”

Lawrence (52)

Hannah Stewart 1-6 0-1 3, Olivia Lemus 1-7 3-6 5, Talima Harjo 3-6 0-0 8, E’lease Stafford 4-8 4-7 12, Chisom Ajekwu 9-15 0-4 18, Skylar Drum 1-2 0-0 2, Leslie Ostronic 1-3 0-0 2, Alexis Boyd 1-5 0-0 2, Emma Bentzinger 0-1 0-0 0, Gracie Reinsch 0-0 0-0 0, Asia Goodwin 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-54 7-18 52.

Olathe Northwest (55)

Sami Marks 4-6 0-0 12, Annemarie Boeh 3-9 0-0 8, Sarah Beth Gueldner 3-6 2-2 8, Christen Curry 1-2 3-5 5, Ryley DeMaro 1-6 0-0 3, Erika Boeh 4-9 2-4 10, Maddi Heise 2-5 4-4 9, Kaylie Kappelmann 0-0 0-0 0, Taylor Cass 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-43 11-15 55.

Lawrence 12 11 14 15 — 52

Olathe NW 9 12 13 21 — 55

Three-point goals: Lawrence 3-13 (Harjo 2, Stewart); Olathe NW 8-23 (Marks 4, A. Boeh 2, DeMaro, Heise). Turnovers: Lawrence 18, Olathe NW 19.