photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence junior Eddie Roman Nose maneuvers around the defense against Olathe Northwest on Friday, February 14, 2025, in Lawrence.

Lawrence hosted Olathe Northwest in boys and girls basketball and lost both games. The girls lost 56-49, and the boys lost 66-56.

The Lions utilized their size early on. The team consistently fed sophomore center Cami Nauholz the ball, and she scored the first 10 points. When other Lions took a shot, Nauholz came up with an offensive rebound and scored. She finished with 21 points, which led the team.

Freshman guard Macyn Ramsay closed the opening quarter with a 3-pointer to give the Lions a 15-12 lead. Ramsay has seen a steady increase in minutes over the past two weeks and provided a spark with her 3-point shooting. She had 9 points on three 3-pointers.

The Lions started the second quarter with an and-1 from freshman guard Jayla Colter but couldn’t stop the Ravens from answering each LHS bucket. After the Ravens tied it up at 24 late in the quarter, Brynnae Johnson scored on an and-1 fastbreak to take a 3-point lead. The Ravens finished with a free throw to close the half down 27-25.

The Lions let the game slip away in the third quarter and were unable to attack the rim with the same success as in the first half. This resulted in the Ravens taking a 6-point lead that the Lions couldn’t overcome. The Ravens were able to get the Lions in foul trouble, leading to free-throw trips and extra scoring opportunities for the Ravens.

Nauholz made it a 52-48 game late in the fourth with 4-straight points, but the Lions couldn’t complete the comeback. Lawrence fell 56-49 for the team’s second-straight home loss.

Boys can’t finish comeback, fall 66-56

Olathe Northwest immediately took a commanding lead minutes into the boys basketball game against Lawrence. The Ravens held a 9-0 lead not four minutes into the game. The Lions called a timeout, made some adjustments and settled into the game.

The Ravens held a 16-5 lead in the quarter before the Lions found some rhythm. The success came from getting to the free throw line, which junior Eddie Roman Nose and senior Aden Ramirez were able to turn into 4 points between them. Freshman Joey Dooley finished the quarter with a buzzer-beater 3-pointer that he shot without his feet set. A 9-0 Olathe Northwest lead became 18-16 at the start of the second quarter.

“They have some really good guards and a big player who is a problem around the basket, so it took us three or four possessions for us to adjust,” coach Nick Wood said. “To their credit, they came out ready to go. But to our guys’ credit, they adjusted and came right back. I was extremely proud of that.”

Junior Josh Galbreath took the lead with a 3-pointer at the start of the quarter, and Ramirez hit one later to give the Lions a 3-point lead. He hit two free throws to give the Lions a 26-21 lead, their largest in the game. After that, the Ravens took back the lead for good.

The Ravens finished the half on a 13-2 run to take a 6-point lead into the break. When the teams hit the court again, the Ravens picked right back up with a 12-0 run, taking a 46-28 lead.

“They’re a good team,” Wood said. “They’re going to go out and make plays, and we knew that. But our guys battled so hard. They competed, and I’m proud of them for that. They made a lot of winning basketball plays tonight.”

The Lions stormed back within reach for the second time in the game. Roman Nose scored the first bucket of a 14-2 run through the end of the third quarter. An 18-point lead for the Ravens was suddenly down to 4 points.

The final quarter saw both teams hit shots back-and-forth, with Dooley and Ramirez hitting the majority of the Lawrence field goals. The Lions couldn’t make the necessary defensive stops late to make the comeback, and the resulting need to foul solidified the game in favor of the Ravens. Their last 7 points came from free throws, and the Lions could only score 4 points in that time.

Both teams have only four games over two weeks left in the regular season. Wood told the team not to let these last few losses weigh on them too heavily and that the Lions are competing the right way in those games.

“They’re continuing to get better, and if they play with that kind of effort and mindset, we will have success in these last two weeks,” Wood said.

Both Lawrence teams will be at Olathe North on Tuesday before hosting Free State for the City Showdown on Friday.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence senior Brynnae Johnson dribbles toward the rim in a 56-49 home loss to Olathe Northwest on Friday, February 14, 2025.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence junior Jada Baars looks to pass in a 56-49 home loss against Olathe Northwest on Friday, February 14, 2025.