photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence sophomore guard Lucy Juelsgaard passes into the paint in a 65-47 loss to Topeka High School on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Lawrence.

Lawrence boys and girls basketball teams both fell short against Topeka High on Tuesday, as the girls lost 65-47 and the boys lost 66-65.

It was a rough offensive start for the Lawrence girls basketball team, with missed shots and turnovers on passes and ball handling.

Lawrence coach Jeff Dickson credited Topeka’s defensive quickness for causing trouble.

“They really took us out of our game,” Dickson said. “We looked our age. We’ve been playing above that, but we got rattled.”

Junior Cami Nauholz hit a 3-pointer for the first Lawrence bucket, and freshman Marley Doleman hit the only other field goal of the quarter for the Lions to make it a 6-5 Topeka lead. Nauholz hit three free throws the rest of the quarter while the Trojans took a 16-8 lead.

The Trojans were able to capitalize on some missed 3s early from the Lions, which led to long rebounds that the Trojans were able to quickly turn into points on the other end.

“We definitely dug ourselves a hole,” Dickson said. “You can’t dig that kind of a hole against a team as good as Topeka High. That’s a really good team.”

The second quarter was even worse for the Lions on offense. The Trojans started with a 3-pointer, and senior Jada Baars-Turner scored a layup on an assist from Nauholz. After that, the Trojans went on an 11-0 run, which sophomore Lucy Juelsgaard ended with a free throw. Sophomore Macyn Ramsay drove in the lane for a layup, but the Trojans ended the second quarter with another bucket to take a 19-point lead into halftime.

A lot changed in the confidence of the Lions at halftime, and Dickson said he believes the game would’ve been a close contest had the Lions started the game the same way they started the second half.

Nauholz started the third quarter with a bucket on an assist from Baars-Turner, and the two Lions both hit two free throws following Topeka’s first bucket of the half. The Trojans scored four-quick points, but Ramsay answered with a pull-up 3-pointer.

Topeka responded by pushing the lead up to 23, but the Lions fought back and closed the quarter hot on offense. Baars-Turner hit a 3, and Juelsgaard hit a layup through contact to start a Lawrence run. After some free throws and some fast-break scoring, the Lions finished the third quarter on a 12-4 run, making it a 15-point game.

“We were on our heels and then turning it over (in the first half), at least this (second) half we attacked, got going downhill and cut it to 13,” Dickson said. “We needed another 5-0 run to get it close.”

The Lions kept pace with the Trojans for the rest of the fourth quarter, but the deficit from the first half was too much to overcome, and the Lions ended with an 18-point loss to the Trojans.

Despite the loss, it was another strong game for Nauholz, who led the team with 20 points. Baars-Turner finished with seven points but was the consistent ball handler for the team in the second half.

The Lawrence boys’ start was about as different as possible from the girls. Junior Kenyon Doleman, sophomore Simon Simien and freshman Axl Bland all hit 3s to give Lawrence a 17-6 lead early in the opening quarter. After LHS took a 20-8 lead, the Trojans ended with two 2-pointers to cut the Lawrence lead to eight at the start of the second quarter.

Both teams traded 2s to start the second quarter before the Trojans went on a 10-0 scoring run that included two big 3s that firmly put them back in the game with a small lead. Lawrence ended the run with a bucket from senior Devin Foster, and the Lions finished strong to go into halftime with a 32-31 lead.

Bland opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer, but the Lions would soon lose the lead with the Trojans hitting three free throws and a 3-pointer. Doleman hit a 3 to tie it up, but the Trojans went on a 5-0 run right after.

Sophomore Joey Dooley got going late in the third quarter and scored nine-straight for the Lions, including two layups through contact. Bland, following a block from Doleman, was fouled on a 3-point attempt, giving the Lions a 52-46 lead after three quarters.

The Lions continued to score in the paint with Dooley and Foster providing most of the points. The Lions got the lead up to 59-51 in the final quarter before the Trojans worked back into the game. Doleman hit a 3-pointer to give the Lions a 64-61 lead, but the Trojans answered with a 3 of their own right after. Dooley hit one of three free throws with 9.3 seconds left, but the Trojans iced the game with two free throws with under a second left in the game.

Those final free throws proved to be the difference in the game, as Topeka finished with the 66-65 win over the Lions.

The Lawrence boys and girls basketball teams will be on the road on Friday for their next games against Shawnee Mission Northwest.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence junior center Cami Nauholz passes the ball to a teammate in a 65-47 loss to Topeka High School on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence freshman Marley Doleman drives into the paint in a 65-47 loss to Topeka High School on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence sophomore guard Simon Simien passes to the wing in a 66-65 loss to Topeka High School on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence senior center Devin Foster waits for a pass in the paint in a 66-65 loss to Topeka High School on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Lawrence.