photo by: Carter Gaskins

LHS head coach Jeff Dickson celebrates with his team after they took a big lead over Shawnee Mission North during a game Wednesday night at LHS on Jan. 20, 2021.

Lawrence High’s girls basketball team suffered a 61-24 road loss to Olathe West on Wednesday night in the substate semifinals.

LHS never scored more than 8 points in a single quarter, while giving up double-digit outputs by Olathe West in each of the first three periods. The Owls (13-5) grabbed a 15-6 lead after the first quarter, and then stretched it out to a 34-14 lead by the intermission.

The Lions finished their season with a 2-19 overall record after falling in the postseason opener. LHS dropped 13 consecutive games to end the year, earning its last win in a 41-36 victory over Shawnee Mission North on Jan. 20.

“I am so proud of the kids who have really bought in this season in spite of the adversity we have faced,” LHS head coach Jeff Dickson said.

Olathe West will host Gardner Edgerton at 3 p.m. Saturday in the substate championship game, with the winner earning a state berth. Gardner Edgerton earned a 52-46 victory over Olathe Northwest on Wednesday.

“Olathe West was right where we are (about) three years ago,” Dickson said. “They came together, bought into coach (Rick) Rhoades’ program and now they are one of the top teams in the state. We can do the same thing.”

Senior Jayden Wilson scored four points in her final game with LHS. The Lions will bring back plenty of key players from this year’s team, as they played several freshmen and sophomores throughout the year.

Dickson was especially proud of the growth from Lucy Hardy, Daphne Bracker Sturm, Brecken Ostronic and Destiny Savannah this past season.

“We have a strong core group that we will be moving forward with,” Dickson said. “They are coachable and always put the team first and we are very excited to get back in the gym with them.”

Lawrence 6 8 6 4 — 24

Olathe West 15 19 23 4 — 61

Lawrence (24)

Jayden Wilson 4, Cyrenity Hardy 1, Hailey Ramirez 4, Amaya Marshall 2, Layla Harjo 5, Serenity Keo 3, Daphne Bracker Sturm 4, Azura Clark 1.