photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

The Lawrence bench celebrates after two free throws late in an overtime win over Notre Dame de Sion on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Lawrence.

The Lawrence girls basketball team trailed by three at halftime to Notre Dame de Sion on Friday, but those three points felt like 15.

The Lions struggled with fouls, turnovers and missed shots, and the team saw its small lead evaporate in the second quarter. They never had a double digit lead, but with the flow of the game and how often the Lions fouled, making a comeback felt monumental.

The team’s comeback was just that: monumental. Lawrence clawed its way back with contributions from every Lion on the court to win 75-68 in overtime.

“It takes everybody,” sophomore Macyn Ramsay said. “It takes the bench, it takes all five on the court, it takes all three coaches, it takes the managers, it takes everybody in the gym. If we didn’t have the energy from the bench, we don’t win that game.”

Senior Jada Baars-Turner said the game was a reflection of practice and the mental toughness of the team to get results through adversity. Lawrence coach Jeff Dickson said that energy and aggression from the team got the Lions in trouble and ultimately helped them win.

“We showed a lot of mental toughness and fearlessness, which worked against us at times,” Lawrence coach Jeff Dickson said. “We made some interesting decisions down the stretch. But when our kids are feeling confident, I mean that’s what you want.”

Lawrence often deploys a full court press, and the defensive intensity is a cornerstone of how the Lions want to play basketball. But at times, that intensity hurt the team. Dickson said that with a young team, it’s a double-edged sword to be so aggressive as it has led to a lot of fouls early in the season.

“We’re not quite at the sophistication of knowing we have to back off because of how the officials are calling the game,” Dickson said. “Those are things we can correct and look at.”

For the first quarter, Lawrence was avoiding the fouls while building a lead. The Storm started with a 3-pointer for the first bucket of the game, and the Lions responded by tying it up with a jumper from junior Cami Nauholz and a free throw from freshman Marley Doleman. The Storm scored a fastbreak bucket on a turnover, but Ramsay hit her first 3 of the night.

Both teams traded buckets with the Lions ending the first quarter with a 15-13 lead.

Lawrence had a slow start offensively in the second quarter. The Storm scored three early buckets to take a 19-15 lead before starting to consistently get to the free throw line. The Lions didn’t score until sophomore Zoey Barber hit a 3-pointer with 2:15 left in the half. Both teams traded a bucket before the end of the half with the Storm holding a 23-20 lead.

“We know our shots are going to eventually fall, so even if we’re not making them at the beginning of the game, we just have to keep shooting and know that eventually they’re going to go in,” Nahuholz said.

The Lions entered halftime with belief in each other. The break was a fresh start for the team to refocus and keep playing hard.

The Storm started the second half with a trip to the free throw line and 2-pointer soon after. The Lions answered scores after that, keeping the game at around a five-point lead for the Storm. Still, free throws were a detriment for the Lions, as nine of the Storm’s 17 points in the quarter came from free throws. The Storm held an eight-point lead late before Doleman hit a 3-pointer for the final bucket of the quarter, bringing the game to a 40-35 lead for the road team.

Lawrence came out hot for the final quarter. Doleman hit another 3, and she secured a big rebound off a teammate’s miss and assisted on a Nauholz score to tie the game. Ramsay showed her range with a deep 3 as Lawrence took a 45-40 lead, its first lead since early in the second quarter.

The Storm responded with a five-point run, and the two teams kept trading scores after that, with neither team gaining a lead of more than two points.

Nauholz shined as it got later in the game. She scored 10 of the team’s 16 points late in the fourth quarter and was dominant in getting rebounds.

The final seconds were left to free throws for both teams. Ramsay hit two to take a two-point lead, but the Storm tied it up. Sophomore Lucy Juelsgaard hit two with 11 seconds left, but the Storm tied it up with five seconds remaining.

The energy from the bench propelled the team in those late moments, and the crowd at Lawrence High School made itself heard when the team needed the support.

“That’s really what gets us through our games, the energy,” Baars-Turner said.

The score remained 59-59 as the clock hit triple zeroes, sending the game into overtime.

There, the Lions started hot once again. Ramsay hit a quick 3-pointer, and Baars-Turner hit one soon after. The Storm scored on a 2-pointer, but Nauholz brought the Lawrence lead back up to six points with a layup.

It wasn’t perfect, but the Lions did better on avoiding fouling late in the fourth and into the overtime period. Dickson implored his team to keep their arms at their sides to avoid getting caught up in a shooter’s arms, and the team found more success once that happened. Still, the number of fouls the Lions got called for is something that the young team will need to resolve in the future.

“We were fouling — those were legit calls,” Dickson said. “We’re fouling people. But I’d rather go through this and let them mature when it’s called really tight than us not be aggressive.”

Back-to-back free throw trips for de Sion brought it back to a two-point game, but Nauholz scored again and hit two free throws afterward, which gave the Lions a lead to lean on. She scored another four points in the final minutes to give Lawrence the 75-68 win at the end of overtime.

Part of what made the win so exciting was seeing young Lions make pressure free throws late. That has the Lions excited for the future of the season.

“We’re not very old — we have big things in our future,” Nauholz said.

Lawrence won’t have a lot of time to celebrate the win as the Lions will host Olathe South on Tuesday in another tough matchup.

“I’ll be able to feel good through the weekend,” Dickson said. “I was proud of how everybody played.”

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence junior Cami Nauholz goes up for a shot in an overtime win over Notre Dame de Sion on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence sophomore Lucy Juelsgaard lays the ball up in an overtime win over Notre Dame de Sion on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence senior Jada Baars-Turner scans the court in an overtime win over Notre Dame de Sion on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence freshman Marley Doleman dribbles in the paint in an overtime win over Notre Dame de Sion on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence sophomore Macyn Ramsay defends a pass in an overtime win over Notre Dame de Sion on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence sophomore Macyn Ramsay looks to pass in an overtime win over Notre Dame de Sion on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence freshman Marley Doleman, right, and Macyn Ramsay press defensively in an overtime win over Notre Dame de Sion on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence sophomore Zoey Barber drives to the rim in an overtime win over Notre Dame de Sion on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence sophomore Macyn Ramsay drives inside in an overtime win over Notre Dame de Sion on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Lawrence.