Lawrence High junior Olivia Lemus, right, has the ball knocked away from behind by Shawnee Mission West senior Emma Van Donselaar during their sub-state championship game Friday evening at LHS.

Youthful exuberance kept Lawrence High’s girls basketball players charged and relentless in pursuit of a sub-state title Friday night on their home court. But Shawnee Mission West’s veteran poise proved too much for the Lions to overcome in a season-ending, 57-41 loss.

The Vikings, starting three seniors and two juniors, looked more polished offensively to open the game and close it. The Lions, starting two juniors, two freshmen and a sophomore, couldn’t consistently match West’s confidence and instead fell victim to mismatches in a pair of lulls that bookended the defeat.

“They came out super-aggressive,” LHS coach Jeff Dickson said of SMW, which advanced to the Class 6A state tournament on the backs of junior center Kenzie Loe (18 points, eight rebounds) and junior forward Elena Artis (scored eight of her 16 in the fourth). “They hit some shots early. I felt like we got some good looks, but we didn’t hit those shots, so we dug ourselves a little bit of a hole, and it kind of put us back on our heels a little bit.”

In fact, the Lions (12-10) played from behind all night due to their first-quarter offensive struggles. LHS started the game in a scoreless, 11-point hole after missing its first 10 field-goal attempts. The amped-up home team even turned the ball over five times before scoring its first basket of the night 6:44 into the game.

Six-foot senior forward Alexis Boyd came in off the bench to get Lawrence out of its funk, gathering her own miss and putting the ball back up and through the net for the first time in the pressure-packed playoff game.

Just as important, junior guard Skylar Drum drove in for a buzzer-beating layup to end the first, allowing the Lions, down 13-4 entering the second, some sense of momentum and accomplishment after a damaging start.

“Our shots just weren’t falling,” Drum said after scoring nine points in the loss, “and we weren’t looking inside as much. We were just shooting it from the outside. But we didn’t hang our heads, and that’s why we were able to come back a little bit in the third quarter.”

By the second half, the Lions’ heads weren’t spinning quite as much, and their resiliency kept them chipping away at SMW (12-10). Drum drilled a three-pointer to cut the deficit to five, and a couple of minutes later Lawrence was down only three when junior Olivia Lemus made another shot from downtown. The Lions, though, got no closer than two, when sophomore Talima Harjo set up freshman center Chisom Ajekwu (12 points, seven rebounds, three blocks) for a bucket in the paint.

The Vikings responded quickly, building their lead back to eight entering the fourth.

A freshman starter two years ago for a team that went 6-15, Drum at least could take some comfort in how far the program has come since then.

“Now we’re really a team,” Drum said. “That’s something I’ve gained from this program, having a family. That’s what it is.”

The Lions’ offense faltered in the fourth, when they hit just three of 16 shots and went through a 4:10 stretch without a basket. Drum said LHS likely let the tension of a state bid get to them late.

“It’s a lot of weight on your shoulders,” Drum said. “You don’t want to be the one to turn it over and waste an opportunity for your team. But I felt like everyone really hustled and we were diving for all the loose balls so we could get as many opportunities as possible.”

SM WEST (57)

Addie Arner 1-6 1-4 4, Emma Van Donselaar 2-5 11-16 15, Alyx Kemp 1-5 0-0 2, Elena Artis 7-10 2-3 16, Kenzie Loe 8-14 2-3 18, Emma Beason 0-3 0-0 0, Jheda Kennedy 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 20-44 16-26 57.

LAWRENCE (41)

Hannah Stewart 0-8 0-0 0, Olivia Lemus 2-7 2-2 7, Skylar Drum 3-9 2-5 9, Talima Harjo 1-9 0-0 3, Chisom Ajekwu 5-10 2-4 12, Leslie Ostronic 1-1 0-1 2, Asia Goodwin 0-3 2-6 2, Alexis Boyd 3-7 0-1 6, Gracie Reinsch 0-0 0-0 0, Emma Bentzinger 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 15-55 8-19 41.

SM West 13 14 15 15 — 57

Lawrence 4 15 15 7 — 41

Three-point goals: SMW 1-6 (Arner); LHS 3-16 (Lemus, Drum, Harjo). Turnovers: SMW 15, LHS 16.