Lawrence High sophomore Hannah Stewart penetrates before kicking the ball out to the wing during the Lions' 63-26 victory over Topeka West on Monday.

Topeka ? The depth of the Lawrence High girls basketball team was on full display during the Lions’ 63-26 win over Topeka West on Tuesday.

Eleven different Lions scored, as they jolted the Chargers early and often to improve to 7-2 on the season.

“That’s what we wanted before the game started,” said Lawrence High sophomore Olivia Lemus of the balanced scoring effort. “We said that we wanted everyone to get touches and everyone to put up shots. People were sinking them, so it was really good.”

Lemus had the hot hand early, as she scored all 11 of her points before the break. The 5-foot-3 senior knocked down four of her eight shots from the field, and scored the first five points of the second quarter.

“I felt my shot tonight, and I felt like I was getting it back so it was really good,” Lemus said.

Lemus and junior E’lease Stafford led the way for the Lions with 11 points apiece, and sophomore Chisom Ajekwu joined them in double figures with 10. Stafford was plagued by foul trouble in the first half, though. Despite Stafford picking up her third foul with 5:30 remaining in the second quarter, the Lions kept rolling without one of their top offensive threats.

“I think that’s the key to a really tough team. You don’t want to be a one-dimensional team that somebody can target,” Lawrence High coach Jeff Dickson said. “If they take E’lease out of the picture, she is still going to play defense, get rebounds and pass the ball. And we have other kids who can step up and put the basketball in the hole, so it’s good that we can weather those kinds of situations to give the rest of the kids confidence that they can contribute to our offense.”

A lot of Lawrence High’s offense was generated by its stifling defense. The Chargers had issues with handling the Lions’ press, and went on to commit 19 turnovers.

“I think it was being aggressive and making sure we had one person help, and knowing where everyone else was,” Lawrence High senior Skylar Drum said.

The road contest against the Chargers was the Lions’ first game in a week after they had Friday’s match-up against Olathe East was postponed due to potential inclement weather. The Lions (ranked No. 6 in Class 6A) now have more than a week before their next game, as they won’t be back in action again until the Emporia tournament Jan. 26-28.

“It’s a brutal tournament. I think if everything went the way it should tonight, we should be like the No. 2 seed,” Dickson said. “Maize would be the No. 1. We beat them in the tournament last year, and they’re ranked top five in the state. Then you have Derby who is really, really good; Wichita Heights who is really, really good; Topeka High is in there, Shawnee Mission North and Eisenhower-Goddard so it’ll be tough. It’ll be good and it’ll be at Emporia. Emporia is really, really good, too, and they’re hosting it. We’re excited about where we’re at, and we’re excited to see what we can do against that level of competition.”

Lawrence High (63)

E’lease Stafford 5-10 1-2 11, Olivia Lemus 4-8 1-2 11, Chisom Ajekwu 5-9 0-0 10, Sammy Williams 2-5 3-4 7, Tamo Thomas 2-4 0-0 6, Hannah Stewart 2-5 0-0 4, Talima Harjo 2-3 0-0 4, Skylar Drum 1-2 1-1 3, Asia Goodwin 1-1 1-4 3, Leslie Ostronic 1-3 0-0 2, Tyrin Cosey 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 26-51 7-13 63.

Topeka West (26)

Gabby Rivera 5-14 1-4 12, Kelsey Bowers 2-3 0-0 6, Lauryn Davis 1-4 1-2 3, Miyah Larson 1-6 1-3 3, Kija Kahre 0-1 2-2 2, Alanna Walker 0-1 0-0 0, Savannah Guy 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 9-29 5-13 26.

Three-point goals: Lawrence High 4-14 (Lemus 2, Thomas 2), Topeka West 3-8 (Bowers 2, Rivera). Fouled out: None. Turnovers: Topeka West 19, Lawrence High 15.