Lawrence High sophomore E'lease Stafford (40) leaves Free State High junior Madison Piper behind as she drives to the basket during the City Showdown game Friday evening at FSHS. The Lions defeated the Firebirds, 52-43.

Suddenly, the scoreboard took on secondary importance, and the packed gymnasium grew quiet Friday night, late in the third quarter of the girls City Showdown.

Lawrence High’s leading scorer, sophomore E’lease Stafford, was on the ground, grimacing from the sort of knee pain that makes everybody looking on cringe with fingers crossed.

Stafford was helped off the court by the coach and the trainer, and her teammates were able to tame their emotions and protect the lead they had built with terrific defense to defeat Free State, 52-43.

The extent of Stafford’s knee injury, sustained with 43.6 seconds remaining in the third quarter and the Lions leading by 11 points, was not known after the game.

“I don’t want to speculate,” second-year LHS coach Jeff Dickson said. “I think all of us know, based on what we looked at, what we’re all afraid of. But I’m a pretty optimistic guy, so I’m just going to wait and see what happens and what we find out. Hopefully, it’s good news and not bad news.”

If LHS must play the remainder of the season without its leading scorer, it already has a blueprint to follow.

“Our kids showed a lot of mental toughness to play through that,” Dickson said. “I tried to keep it out of my mind, and I think they did a better job of it than I did. They did a nice job of staying focused and playing possession by possession by possession, which is something we preach all season long. And that’s probably the best we’ve played all season for a whole game.”

The Lions weren’t in the mood to celebrate the well-played victory because of Stafford’s misfortune.

“We all shared the ball very well,” junior Skylar Drum said. “We’re not happy, obviously, that she’s hurt, but we are happy that we won the game.”

Drum did more than her share to ensure victory for the Lions (11-9). She was charged with the difficult task of chasing Free State star Madison Piper through screens and made the quick, strong, skilled, smart, driven junior earn her 16 points and 11 rebounds, both game-high totals. Drum, showing recently the offensive assertiveness Dickson has been pleading for all season, added 12 points and four rebounds.

“I tried to keep her from getting an open look at the basket and tried to fight through the screens because they set a lot of them and I tried to get a hand up in her face,” Drum said of checking Piper. “She’s a really good shooter and finds a way to get open every time.”

Operating from the high post, senior Peyton Brown (13 points) also had a big night for the Firebirds (13-7), who had a difficult time putting together any runs because of the tough LHS defense.

Jaycie Bishop and Jaelyn Two Hearts hit big, fourth-quarter three-pointers for the Firebirds, but Lawrence consistently responded.

Lawrence quickly took control of the game early and never surrendered.

The Lions rode a 10-2 run to take a 15-9 lead after a first quarter in which they made 3 of 5 three-pointers. Olivia Lemus made both of her three-pointers and scored eight of her team-high 15 points in the opening quarter.

The Lions moved inside for most of their points in the second quarter, feeding rapidly developing freshman center Chisom Ajekwu for six of her 10 points. Ajekwu added nine rebounds.

The Lions also received boosts from scrappy defender Hannah Stewart, a freshman, and sharp-shooting sophomore Talima Harjo (nine points, two three-pointers).

More than anything, it was the Lions’ size that made them a tough matchup for Free State, Firebirds coach Bryan Duncan said.

“Our kids are disappointed tonight, but we’ve never had a goal of beating Lawrence High or any specific team,” Duncan said.

LHS and Free State open sub-state play Wednesday on their home courts.

LAWRENCE (52)

Hannah Stewart 0-4 0-3 0, Olivia Lemus 3-7 7-8 15, Skylar Drum 4-8 2-4 12, E’lease Stafford 3-9 0-0 6, Chisom Ajekwu 5-7 0-0 10, Talima Harjo 3-5 1-4 9, Gracie Reinsch 0-0 0-0 0, Leslie Ostronic 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-40 10-19 52.

FREE STATE (43)

Cameryn Thomas 1-5 0-0 2, Caiti Schlesener 1-2 0-1 2, Madison Piper 6-16 2-2 16, Hannah Walter 1-5 0-0 2, Peyton Brown 6-11 1-2 13, Jaycie Bishop 1-2 0-0 3, Jaelyn Two Hearts 2-7 0-0 5, Erin Cushing 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-48 3-5 43.

Lawrence 15 11 9 17 — 52

Free State 9 9 8 17 — 43

Three-point goals: Lawrence 6-13 (Lemus 2, Drum 2, Harjo 2); Free State 4-14 (Piper 2, Bishop, Two Hearts). Fouled out: Walter. Turnovers: Lawrence 9, Free State 10.