Olathe ? For long stretches Friday night, Lawrence High’s girls basketball team looked like it had the kind of size and defensive effort to go toe-to-toe with perennial Sunflower League powerhouse Olathe South.

The Lions outscored the Falcons in the second and third quarters, with sophomore E’lease Stafford, freshman Chisom Ajekwu and senior Alexis Boyd often bothering their foes inside. But a fourth-quarter lapse cost LHS the chance at a marquee victory, and O-South prevailed, 44-32.

Lawrence’s defense didn’t suffer a letdown in the fourth quarter, when the Lions held the Falcons to 1-for-9 shooting. But the visitors’ eight turnovers in the final eight minutes led to a four-point fourth, after LHS closed the third trailing by four points.

Second-year Lawrence coach Jeff Dickson witnessed his team win the second quarter, 13-9, and the third, 9-6, meaning he couldn’t quite believe his eyes when the Lions (4-4) only made two baskets in the fourth and finished the game with 25 turnovers.

“Surprised would not be a good word to describe it,” Dickson said. “When O-South went to their delay game that early, we lost our composure a little bit for a 90-second stretch, and when we did get stops, some of our young guards got a little too excited. O-South is an incredibly poised and well-coached, experienced team. And that made all the difference in those final moments. But we will get there, and we took a huge step in that direction tonight.”

Although LHS didn’t have enough offense (15-for-39 shooting, 38.5 percent) to pull off an upset, its defense left Dickson feeling good about the weeks ahead. O-South made just 13 of 47 shots (27.7 percent).

“Our team ‘D’ was what we have been building toward since day one last year,” the coach said. “Our girls battled and fought and scrapped with tremendous team defense. I could not be more proud of a group than I was of our kids tonight. They were sensational.”

Lawrence (32)

Hannah Stewart 1-5 0-1 2, Olivia Lemus 0-2 0-1 0, Skylar Drum 0-0 0-0 0, E’lease Stafford 5-10 1-2 11, Chisom Ajekwu 3-5 1-3 7, Alexis Boyd 4-7 0-0 8, Emma Bentzinger 1-1 0-0 2, Gracie Reinsch 0-0 0-0 0, Talima Harjo 1-7 0-0 2, Lesle Ostronic 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 15-39 2-7 32.

Olathe South (44)

Kaiti Butaud 0-5 0-0 0, Kala Holder 2-7 2-2 6, Zoe Matje 1-5 0-1 2, Kacey Kennett 4-10 7-10 17, DeJanae Roebuck 5-12 3-4 13, Lindsey Bartels 1-5 1-2 3, Makayla Gooch 0-3 3-6 3. Totals 13-47 16-25 44.

Lawrence 6 13 9 4 — 32

O-South 17 9 6 12 — 44

Three-point goals: LHS 0-2; O-South 2-12 (Kennett 2). Fouled out: LHS: Boyd. Turnovers: LHS 25, O-South 7.