LJWorld.com / LHS girls cruise past O-Northwest

Archive for Saturday, January 17, 2004

Lions dominate in final game until Jan. 29

January 17, 2004

Nearly two weeks will have come and gone before the Lawrence High girls basketball team plays another game.

The quirk in the middle of an otherwise busy schedule became a whole lot easier for the LHS players thanks to Friday's 76-23 Sunflower League victory over Olathe Northwest.

A win sure beats 12 days of dwelling on a loss.

"Now, during practice, we don't have to hear about it the entire break," LHS senior Cherrale Ricks said with a laugh.

No, the Lions won't. Friday's victory at Lawrence High was their second straight win, capping a successful week that saved an LHS ship headed in the wrong direction.

Lawrence improved to 4-4 overall, and 3-1 in the Sunflower League.

"You want to get the win," LHS coach Kristin Mallory said. "You want to get the Sunflower League win, that's the most important thing.

"But we've still got a lot of work to do."

Olathe Northwest, a first-year school with only a few seniors, often had trouble creating a clean shot. The Ravens (0-8, 0-1) shot just 19.5 percent from the field and scored just eight second-half points.

Once the game was decided -- after a 26-point LHS second quarter -- Mallory and the Lions worked extensively on executing set plays and defensive schemes. After the 12-day hiatus, Lawrence embarks on a brutal schedule, starting Jan. 29 with a tough tournament at Free State High.

"We were trying to run our plays correctly," Ricks said. "We've been having problems with being selfish. We were trying to play as a team."

6Sports video: LHS girls overwhelm Olathe NW

Judging by the distribution of scoring, the Lions appear to have done better. LHS had four players score in double figures, and two more -- Jodie Cochrane and Sydney Wilson -- with nine points. Ricks led LHS with 15 points, while Josie Polk and Megan Klingler added 13. Sophomore Drew Huff scored 10.

The problems seemed few and far between for the Lions. But whatever went wrong Friday, rest assured LHS has plenty of time to work it out.

"We're starting to get on a roll," Mallory said. "I think we're starting to get things figured out. But now we've got a lot of time off, and we need to use it effectively."

Lawrence High's Megan Klingler leaps for a layup under pressure from Olathe Northwest's Taylor Ryan in the Lions' blowout win over the Ravens. Lawrence won, 76-23, Friday night at LHS.