photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence junior Cami Nauholz shoots the ball in a 61-44 win over Blue Valley West on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Lawrence.

The Lawrence girls basketball team shook off some holiday rust en route to beating Blue Valley West 61-44 at home on Friday.

The Lions had four practices leading up to the game after taking time off for the winter break. Sophomore Lucy Juelsgaard said the team practiced hard in the practices leading up to the game, which helped the team overcome the rust and finish strong.

“It’s new for us with having extra games and playing this early out of break,” Lawrence coach Jeff Dickson said. “But that’s the new normal for the state of Kansas. We had to kick some rust off.”

Lawrence started defensively with the usual full-court press, but the Lions were a little rusty on defense, and the press led to the defense being stretched out and picked apart.

“Once we got out of trying to do too much there, we settled down and showed we were the better team,” Dickson said. “Once we got back to our defensive principles, we were able to attack the ball in the halfcourt a little bit, cause some turnovers and get some things down the court (offensively).”

Even though the Lions allowed a few open opportunities, the Jaguars also had some offensive rust and weren’t able to hit enough shots to put the Lions in trouble.

“If we’re not scoring, then we shouldn’t let them score,” Juelsgaard said. “For us, since we’re such a small team, we have to defend at a high level. We have a high standard.”

Offensively, the Lions had a slow start with missed shots, including from the free-throw line. Junior Cami Nauholz scored the first bucket of the game and got her second after an offensive rebound from a missed free throw. Between rebounding, blocking shots in the paint and scoring, Nauholz was making plays all over the court.

Following a tie at 6-6, the Jaguars closed the opening quarter with a 6-2 run to hold the lead at the start of the second quarter. The Lions went 2 for 8 on free throws in the quarter while only scoring on three field goals.

We obviously didn’t start out great, but we didn’t let that affect the rest of our game,” Nauholz said. “We’ve had better starts, but we knew we were OK and that we’d bounce back and finish strong.”

Nauholz started the second quarter with three made free throws on two trips. After a Blue Valley West free throw to make it a four-point lead again, Nauholz led the Lions on a scoring run that put them up for good. Nauholz scored with an assist from sophomore Macyn Ramsay, and Nauholz then assisted freshman Marley Doleman on a field goal. Doleman hit an and-1 after the make, giving the Lions a 16-15 lead. Nauholz added to it with another 2-pointer.

The Jaguars stopped the run with a 3-pointer, but the Lawrence offense kept the scoring up. Senior Jada Baars-Turner hit a free throw, and Nauholz grabbed the rebound on the second free throw attempt from Baars-Turner and scored in the paint. Nauholz hit three more layups in the quarter as Lawrence took a 27-20 lead at halftime.

Lawrence’s defense tightened up and started forcing turnovers. Outside of Nauholz and Ramsay, the Lions are a smaller team, which makes their ability to force turnovers critical in having success defensively. A lot of work over the summer helped the Lions strengthen their ability to force turnovers on defense with steals.

“We’re very quick, so that’s a high plus for us,” Juelsgaard said. “Once we get the pace, there’s so much chemistry on the team that we work well.”

Ramsay got going in the third quarter, starting it off with a 3-pointer. It was the first make for the Lions from behind the 3-point line of the game. She hit another one not long afterward in a third quarter that saw both teams score more. Even with the Jaguars scoring more, the Lions were able to add to their lead and went into the final quarter with a 45-31 lead.

“(Ramsay) is like somebody with an axe at a door,” Dickson said. “Eventually, she’s going to hit her shots. Once that starts happening, it’s off to the races for us.”

Lawrence went on one final 12-0 run in the fourth quarter with 3s from Ramsay and Doleman that gave the Lions the lead for good. Nauholz scored six of the team’s final 14 points as Lawrence left with a 61-44 win.

It was a big night for Nauholz, who finished with 35 points and double digit rebounds. Nauholz said she has improved her mentality from earlier in the season to keep playing through any early missed shots, and on Friday, she didn’t allow early misses to stop her from taking over the game.

“She’s the most technically skilled post player that I’ve ever coached,” Dickson said. “She’s put a tremendous amount of time into her footwork. Her ability to catch the ball is amazing. She almost never turns the ball over. She’s put in the work to be the player she is, and I’m thankful I get to be around someone as amazing as a person and as amazing of a player.”

Lawrence will be back at home on Tuesday to host Topeka, while the boys team will return from a break the same day with the Topeka boys team afterward.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence sophomore Lucy Juelsgaard looks to pass in a 61-44 win over Blue Valley West on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence sophomore Zoey Barber jumps for a layup in a 61-44 win over Blue Valley West on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence freshman Marley Doleman grabs a rebound in a 61-44 win over Blue Valley West on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence sophomore Macyn Ramsay dribbles the ball up for an open layup in a 61-44 win over Blue Valley West on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Lawrence.