Lawrence High’s girls basketball players had revenge on their minds when they took the court on Thursday in the first round of sub-state against Shawnee Mission South.


The Lions didn’t forget their last game at SM South, when they fell into a big hole in the first quarter and never really bounced back. They were embarrassed by it. LHS coach Jeff Dickson talked to his team in the locker room for more than 40 minutes afterward.

But this time, the Lions were the ones dominating in the first quarter. When the Raiders closed within one possession, the Lions weren’t going to let go of their lead and they pulled away with made free throws in the fourth quarter for a 67-56 victory, their first sub-state win since the 2008-09 season.


LHS wanted to attack the basket and that’s exactly what happened. Marissa Pope set the tone with a game-high 27 points, and the rest of the Lions were successful in driving into the middle of the paint to pass the ball to post players or cutting wings for layups.


“We’re not a great shooting team but we have some kids who can really put the ball on the floor and get to the basket,” Dickson said. “Tonight, besides Marissa, we had some other kids looking to be a little bit more aggressive. We kept our posts where they needed to be, where we’ve tried to keep them all year, and we were able to get them involved early on. It was a great team effort for us to be able to score like that.”


The Lions are now one win away from the state tournament, and will have to upset top-seeded Shawnee Mission Northwest to make the trip to Wichita. The Lions had a poor start against the Cougars in their regular season meeting, a 22-point loss, but if they can attack the basket and knock down some outside shots like they did in the first quarter on Thursday, the Lions can compete with anybody.


Free State’s girls basketball team cruised to a 61-12 victory over Kansas City Wyandotte in its sub-state opener. The Firebirds looked sharp, taking a 45-4 lead at halftime, but they will need to be at their best when they face Shawnee Mission West at 7 p.m. Saturday to earn a trip to state. The Firebirds beat SM West by three points in the final week of the regular season.


In case you missed it, we’re copying one of the popular features of KUsports.com, “Keegan’s Ratings,” where Sports Editor Tom Keegan ranks KU football and men’s basketball players after every game he attends and I’m bringing back the high school ratings for this basketball season. These individual rankings are just one person’s opinion, but it’s a good way to look at how each person impacted each game.

Lawrence High girls basketball

1. Marissa Pope, sr. — Pope was in search for her first sub-state victory in her four-year career, and she wasn’t going to let anybody stop her. She scored a game-high 27 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including making her first seven shots inside the three-point arc. She just drove past defenders and somehow found ways to score through traffic. Despite playing with four fouls in the fourth quarter because of a few offensive fouls, she played tight defense and knocked out a few dribbles and passes out of bounds. She also had three assists in the first quarter and one steal.


2. E’lease Stafford, fr. — Stafford has played well in the Lions’ last few games, but I think this was her best all-around effort. She scored 11 points, including a perfect 8-for-8 at the free throw line in the fourth quarter, and had three rebounds, three steals and three assists. She was a pest defensively, deflecting numerous inbounds passes and just causing havoc in the backcourt for SM South guards.


3. Olivia Lemus, so. — Lemus is known for her ability to knock down open three-pointers. Now she’s driving and opposing players are having trouble stopping her. She finished with 10 points, five rebounds and three steals. She’s active on defense and does a good job grabbing deflected passes.


4. Alexis Boyd, jr. — Boyd missed some shots that she usually makes and she ran into early foul trouble, but that didn’t stop her from making a strong impact. She scored six points and had eight rebounds.


5. Matia Finley, sr. — The Lions need Finley to crash the glass hard for rebounds each game, and that’s exactly what she did on Thursday. Finley grabbed 10 rebounds, a steal and blocked two shots. Her defense in the low post, along with grabbing rebounds, has helped the Lions’ guards run the floor in transition, setting up easy buckets. Finley also had four points.


6. Skylar Drum, so. — The 5-foot-6 guard played with a lot of confidence and it paid off with seven points, two rebounds and two steals. Drum had her shot dropping, 3-for-4 from the field, and played tough defense on the perimeter.


7. Rebecca Finley, sr. — Finley made her first shot of the game in the first quarter, a layup assisted by Lemus. She returned the favor by assisting a layup by Lemus in the second quarter. Finley also had four rebounds.


8. Asia Goodwin, fr. — Goodwin picked up a few minutes in the second quarter. She didn’t shoot the ball or record any stats.


9. Gracie Reinsch, jr. — Played in the final minute of the first half, but didn’t shoot the ball or record any stats.


• Next up: 7 p.m. Saturday at SM Northwest. Record: 7-14.
*
As always, feel free to comment, email me, or find me on Twitter @nightengalejr.