LHS girls basketball huddles up during pregame. LHS fell to Olathe West 47-31 on Tuesday, Jan. 7.

Olathe — Junior forward Ozi Ajekwu scored 9 points as she tried to lead the way for Lawrence High, but the Lions failed to overcome turnovers and a stagnant offense in a 47-31 loss to Olathe West on Tuesday night.

Both sides struggled to get much going on offense early, with the Owls holding a narrow 8-4 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Lions shot 2 of 12 from the field, yet still found themselves within striking distance.

Olathe West dictated the pace of the game with aggressive play on both ends of the court. The Owls wanted to run, chomping at the bit for any transition opportunity.

That turned out to be fruitful in the second quarter when the Owls extended the lead to double-digits on the back of a 10-2 run. The Lions (3-3, 1-1 Sunflower League) broke through with just over three minutes left in the first half as sophomore guard Layla Harjo sank a pair of free throws.

Despite turning the ball over 19 times in the first half, LHS trailed Olathe West 21-12 at the break.

But the Owls woke back up in the second half, starting the third quarter on a 15-3 run.

Much of this was due to the play of Olathe West junior guard Michelle Anderson. After not scoring in the first half, Anderson scored 8 points in the third quarter. Senior forward Maddy McGavran added 5 points as well.

For LHS, offensive opportunities were few and far between, with senior guard Ella Stewart’s early 3-pointer being the Lions’ lone field goal of the third quarter. And while Olathe West held onto its lead throughout the fourth quarter, LHS did find a spark offensively late from Ajekwu and freshman guard Serenity Keo.

LHS will next play Shawnee Mission West at home on Friday. Tipoff is at 5:30 p.m.

Lawrence High (31)

Ozi Ajekwu 4-6 1-5 9, Layla Harjo 1-8 2-2 5, Serenity Keo 0-2 4-6 4, Hailey Ramirez 1-3 2-3 4, Amaya Marshall 1-8 1-2 3, Ella Stewart 1-5 0-4 3, Lexi Dutcher 1-1 0-0 2, Geme Ajekwu 0-0 1-2 1, Sophie DeWitt 0-6 0-2 0, Paiden Bell 0-3 0-2 0, Jayden Wilson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 9-43 11-28 31.

Olathe West (47)

Michelle Anderson 5-10 0-0 11, Bailey Collar 3-9 4-8 11, Maddy McGavran 3-7 2-2 8, Anaiya Uhde 2-5 1-1 5, Kenzie Hart 2-6 0-0 4, Kendall Starcevich 1-2 2-2 4, Ashley Gibson 1-3 0-0 2, Jordyn Wilson 1-2 0-0 2, Alexis Newman 0-5 0-0 0, Allysa Moore 0-4 0-0 0, Syd Loveless 0-3 0-0 0, Macy Glover 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-57 7-13 47.

Lawrence High 4 8 3 16 — 31

Olathe West 8 13 18 8 — 47

3-point field goals: Lawrence High 2-12 (Stewart, Harjo); Olathe West 4-17 (Anderson, McGavran, Collar, Starcevich). Turnovers: Lawrence High 29, Olathe West 22.