photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence junior center Cami Nauholz passes to the wing in a win over Topeka West at Lawrence High School on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, in Lawrence.

Basketball returned to the Lawrence High School gymnasium on Tuesday with a girls game against Topeka West and a boys game against Kansas City East.

Both Lawrence teams came away with big wins in the home opener, as the girls won 77-46 and the boys won 66-51.

The Lawrence girls were first to play and got their season started with a blowout win over Topeka West. From the jump, the Lions set the tone with a tenacious play style that made scoring and defending difficult for the Chargers. Topeka West won the tipoff, but sophomore forward Macyn Ramsay blocked the Chargers’ shot.

“I think we did good — we came out with energy,” Ramsay said. “It’s a whole team sport. We all came out and had energy, all seven, eight on varsity.”

That was the start of a big first half for Ramsay. She was both a leading scorer and ball-handler for the Lions. Ramsay hit the first shot of the game, a 3-pointer, after the Lions missed some early shots in the paint.

Lawrence started with a 12-1 run in the opening quarter. The Lions found success by avoiding dribbling too much and consistently passing the ball around.

“We did a lot of drills to move the ball outside on the perimeter and have less dribbles and work to get open shots,” Ramsay said. “It really helped us to move the ball around and have less dribbles.”

Junior center Cami Nauholz started to find her offensive rhythm midway through the first quarter, and she caught fire with 21 first-half points.

The Lions finished the opening quarter with a 22-8 lead and extended that to 47-18 in the second quarter. Nauholz and Ramsay accounted for 18 of the team’s 21 points.

Ramsay said it was important for the Lions to set the tone defensively early, and the wide scoring gap between the two teams early helped Lawrence control the game.

“It’s super important,” Ramsay said. “Setting the tone in this first game, going 1-0 at home and coming out like that was great.”

Lawrence’s offense stalled in the third quarter as the Lions committed fouls, turned the ball over and missed shots. The Chargers started the quarter with 10 unanswered points, and the Lions didn’t get on the board until over six minutes into the quarter with a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Zoey Barber.

Once the Lions got on the board, the quarter evened out, and the Lions held a 56-33 lead at the start of the fourth.

Ramsay scored a quick five points to open the fourth, which was followed by a 3-pointer from Nauholz. Lawrence was scoring on offense but was slowed down defensively by numerous fouls.

“We talked about that in the locker room when we get up that much in the third, fourth quarter to get back and not press so much,” Ramsay said. “That’s definitely something we need to fix in the next game.”

Still, the offensive night was one for the team to be excited about. Ramsay scored 27 points and showed some swagger and confidence after hitting a fourth-quarter 3. Nauholz had 28 points while dominating the glass on offense.

“It felt so good just with the first game, home court, the student section… it feels good to have all the energy out there,” Ramsay said “I couldn’t do it without my team and without the support we have.”

Despite the free throw attempts allowed, the Lions held strong to the lead and came away with a 77-46 win.

The Lawrence boys basketball team faced Kansas City East from Missouri for its home opener and won by 14. The Lions centered their offensive attack around the paint and utilized their athletic finishers to score points.

East started with a 3-pointer, but Lawrence responded with eight unanswered. Sophomore forward Joey Dooley scored his team’s first and was followed by two free throws from junior forward Kenyon Doleman.

Lawrence finished the quarter with a lead of a point after Senior center Devin Foster hit a free throw with under five seconds left.

East took the lead with another 3-pointer, but Dooley scored on back-to-back layups, followed by a driving layup from senior guard Landon Bland.

Lawrence assistant coach Anthony Harvey Jr. said the team’s hustle plays in the first half weren’t up to the team’s expectations, which played a part in first-half score.

Fouls became an issue for Lawrence in the second quarter, although East missed a number of them which kept Lawrence ahead. While the East Lions were making free throws, Lawrence sophomore Simon Simien was making tough shots and drawing contact.

“Simon Simien has grown in front of us in just six months,” Harvey said. “He probably led us in rebounds tonight. He’s an athletic kid. And he’s only a sophomore. We have a lot of kids like that on our team.”

A few missed free throws from Lawrence late in the second quarter kept the game close as Lawrence led 28-27 at halftime.

East once again started the quarter with a 3-pointer, but the Lions soon after took full control of the lead and held on for the rest of the game. Doleman made two free throws to tie it at 30 apiece, and Dooley and Simien scored contested layups soon after. The Lions added to the run when freshman guard Axl Bland used his length to jump and steal the ball on a full-court pass and then earned an assist after passing it off to sophomore guard Truth Pope, which gave the Lions a six-point lead.

East had three free throw trips that resulted in only three points, while Lawrence was connecting on layups driving to the rim. Landon Bland scored on an and-1, and he later hit two free throws across two free throw trips late in the quarter to give the Lions a 44-37 lead.

“That’s a real life lesson right there,” Harvey said. “They started to turn up once they saw the tide turn against them with the calls.”

Simien and the Lions pushed the lead to double digits early in the fourth, even though the home team still struggled to avoid fouls. East got into the bonus early and had a few extra free throw trips on technical fouls. In the final quarter, the Lions received a second technical foul from the bench, which resulted in Lawrence head coach Nick Wood being ejected from the game.

The Lions kept playing stingy defense through the rest of the final quarter, even though it led to some free throws for East. The Lions started to find their own way to the line late in the quarter as Lawrence had a 10-0 run. Both teams deployed their bench units late in the contest as Lawrence held on to win 65-51.

The Lawrence girls basketball team will be at home on Friday to face Notre Dame de Sion, while the boys basketball team won’t return until both Lawrence teams host Olathe South on Tuesday.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence junior forward Kenyon Doleman drives into the paint in a win over Kansas City East at home on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence sophomore guard Zoey Barber drives for an open layup in a win over Topeka West at Lawrence High School on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence sophomore forward Joey Dooley scores on a reverse layup in a win over Kansas City East at home on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, in Lawrence.