Lawrence High’s girls basketball team couldn’t have a much tougher opener than tonight’s 7 p.m. game at Overland Park Aquinas.

The Saints, last year’s Class 6A runners-up and the 2001 champs, handed the Lions a 65-38 defeat to open last season. And Aquinas should be just as good this year.

But there are two bits of good news.

First, the schedule gets easier for LHS. Even better, the Lions return about 85 percent of their scoring and four honorable mention All-Sunflower League players and have a deeper, more experienced bench compared to last year’s 9-13 team, which was 3-8 in the Sunflower League.

“The way I look at it, it’s a measuring stick for us,” said LHS coach Kristin Mallory, starting her second season at LHS. “I don’t want them to get caught up in the win or loss right now. After Aquinas, we play again right away, then we have a week and a half before Free State. So it’ll be nice to see where we are.”

Even with that loss last year, the Lions surprised several teams with their aggressive play and fast-paced approach. They weren’t the Lions who went 3-18 two years ago.

Senior point guard Leigh DeBiasse heads up the LHS offense. She’s joined in the backcourt by senior Audrey Pope. Juniors Josie Polk, Rachael Klingler and Cherrale Ricks fill out the Lions’ starting lineup, though Mallory says it could change often, depending on the opponent.

“Throughout the season, we could have a lot of different looks,” she said. “We could go big, we could go fast, we can go defensive, we can go offensive. You could see a variety.”

Free State's Jayme Lisher, left, Lawrence High's Leigh DeBiasse, center, and Seabury Academy's Lindsey Ahlen are eager to lead their respective girls basketball teams. FSHS and LHS will open the season tonight, while Seabury will open Friday.

Lawrence’s biggest asset last year was its defense, spurred by Pope senior Shari Lassiter. Mallory raves about their defensive ability, which often leads to fast-break opportunities, but Mallory wants her team to control the ball more often.

“We’re still going to push,” Mallory said. “We’re just not putting in as many set plays as last year.”

With an improved record and the first sub-state victory since the 1995-96 season, the Lions are craving more. Say, at least a .500 record and another sub-state win, for starters.

But Mallory doesn’t want to push too much right now. She knows that the start of the season is just to get her players ready for February and March.

“We’ve got much higher expectations this season,” she said. “But we kind of have the business approach: We don’t get too excited about everything because we know there’s always something else we can work on.”

Free State

After three weeks of practice, Firebirds coach Bryan Duncan isn’t sure he’s ready for a 7 p.m. opener today against KC Wyandotte at Free State.

His team’s ready, yes, but Duncan will be a head coach for the first time in his five-year coaching career.

“I’m not sure, as a coach, you’re ever ready,” Duncan said. “But I know everybody’s really excited. We aren’t sick of practice by any means, but we’re excited to play.”

Free State, 6-15 overall and 2-8 in the Sunflower League last year, might be excited because it has nothing to lose.

Last year’s record was the school’s worst since the Firebirds’ first season, when they went 0-21.

With a new coach, only two seniors and a handful of experienced players, Duncan’s philosophy thus far has been to use his entire roster ” all 15 players ” during practice, see who looks the best and go from there. Along the way, he has been implementing new offensive and defensive schemes, drilling a lot and having his players run a lot.

Expect to see some fast-paced, full-court games with the Firebirds.

“We’re going to be up and down the floor and be aggressive on defense,” he said. “We do feel like we have a lot of quality athletes and a lot of team speed.”

At the same time, Duncan expects his main core of players ” starters Jayme Lisher, Lauren Abney, Emilie Beneventi, Jenny Gwaltney and Emilie Humbarger, along with sophomore Jamie Stanclift, the main option off the bench if she’s not starting after a few months ” to be solid.

“They’re juniors, not sophomores,” Duncan said. “They need to be prepared to play lots of basketball.”

Bottom line: Duncan said FSHS could struggle at times, but wins shouldn’t elude the Firebirds.

“We expect to be successful and win,” he said. “At the same time, we’re smart enough to realize that it’s going to take time to jell.”

Seabury Academy

The Seahawks have just eight players on their roster; seven are sophomores or freshmen.

Thus, coach Tracy Kitson spends a lot of practice time just explaining the basics.

“But they’re learning really quickly,” she said. “I’ve been impressed by how much they’ve gotten.”

Kitson, in her first season as head coach, takes over a team that won two games last year, playing a non-Kansas State High School Activities Assn. schedule.

“We would like to improve on our record,” she said. “But I don’t think we feel any pressure to win. Our main objective is to improve.”

Seahawk starters include senior Janie Schneider, sophomores Laura Frizell and Linaya Newstrom and freshmen Laura Hoffman and Lindsey Ahlen, though Kitson said she’d use most of her bench throughout the season.

And there will be few games tougher than traveling to Williamsburg on Friday to play the Panthers at 5 p.m.

“It can’t get much tougher,” Kitson said. “That will definitely be a good measuring block to see where we are.”