photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence junior Cami Nauholz goes for a layup in a loss to Olathe Northwest on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, in Olathe.

The Lawrence girls basketball team overperformed expectations in the 2025-26 season as the young roster managed to host and win a substate game.

A key to that success last year was junior center Cami Nauholz, who was one of the top point scorers in the Sunflower League and led the league in both rebounds and blocks. Now that she’s a senior, Nauholz is ready to lead the team further to the state tournament for her final year in Lawrence.

The good thing for Nauholz in regards to being the upperclassman to lead the team is that she had that role last year. The Lions only had two seniors last year, and only one who started regularly. That meant that Nauholz, as the only other starting upperclassman, had to be a leader.

“It was definitely tough — a lot of girls don’t have to experience that really until their senior year,” Nauholz said. “At the beginning of the year, we had some learning to do and some teaching, but I think as we progressed through the year the younger girls took it better and better, and then they just kept progressing.”

Nauholz will have a group of to-be juniors in the lineup who played a lot over the last two seasons. She’s seen the group of incoming freshmen that will join the team, and their potential mixed with the progress the returners made has Nauholz excited for her final year at Lawrence.

“I think my role on the court is just to uplift everyone and help them out and what they’re doing and everything,” Nauholz said. “Off the court as well, just spending as much time with the girls as possible and trying to teach them as much as I can in a positive way.”

With the foundation the team built last year, Nauholz believes the Lions can develop an even more potent play style.

Nauholz similarly has her own developmental growth going into her senior year. She’s developed a strong set of post moves that have been worked on to perfection. Her inside scoring ability is what allowed her to lead the team in scoring, and it’s what has allowed her to commit to North Dakota State University for basketball.

Last year’s success started in the summer, where Lawrence built its offensive foundation in ball movement. It served the team well, as the Lions were able to improve offensively from the prior year despite having a younger roster overall.

“We had such a great time as a team, and we definitely grew a lot as well,” Nauholz said. “You could tell from the beginning of the season to the end of season how much we grew. At the end of the season we were getting those big wins, whereas at the beginning, we had close losses.”

An evolution in Nauholz’s game in high school games can come from what she’s already done at club basketball games. With her club team Della Lamb, Nauholz has to space the floor more and shoot more outside shots as she is going against taller bigs more often. Bringing that into the high school season more can help open things up for herself and others.

A beneficiary of that space would be a teammate like rising junior Macyn Ramsay, who was second on the team in points scored. Her ability to score in the paint is second to only Nauholz, and the two together combine to create a dynamic scoring threat.

“We’re going to build a lot on that,” Nauholz said. “Macyn and I have played together quite a bit, so we’re probably the best in terms of the pick and roll and stuff, and we can really have our timing down.”

The Lions are looking to get to the 6A state tournament for the first time since the 2022-23 season, in which Lawrence held the No. 4 seed with an 18-4 record. The Lions have the returning production to get a leg up on the rest of the Sunflower League, and they’ve got the star player at center to lead them both on and off the court.

“I just think we’re going to have a really good season, and we’re gonna shock a lot of people,” Nauholz said.