FAIRFIELD — When you’re watching the Lawrence girls basketball team, you can expect to see a lot of running and a lot of rebounding.

The Bulldogs are faster, bigger and stronger, and basketball is a game you tend to win when that’s the case, as it was Thursday when Lawrence beat Gardiner, 76-55, in a battle of undefeated Class A North teams at Folsom Gymnasium.

“All the way around, we did a good job,” said Lawrence head coach Greg Chesley. “I think we gave up a few more points than we would have liked, but when you score 76 points, you can give up a few points. We certainly rebounded well, and we were good in transition, especially early.”

Lilly Gray had 26 points and 15 rebounds for Lawrence, which also got 25 points and seven rebounds from Maddie Provost, 14 points and 11 rebounds from Nadia Morrison and nine points and seven rebounds from Ashley Shores. The Bulldogs racked up 54 rebounds to Gardiner’s 33.

Chesley didn’t hesitate prior to the season when he said Lawrence would be a running team this year, and the Bulldogs put their speed on display early. Quick in transition, Lawrence (4-0) got two buckets off turnovers from Provost and a number of easy layups from Gray to establish a double-digit lead.

“It’s honestly (just a matter of) trusting each other,” Provost, the reigning KVAC Class A North Player of the Year, said of Lawrence’s success in the transition game. “(It’s about) getting out wide and just passing the ball around. That’s really it.”

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Those passes were crisp, frequently leading to open looks all over the floor. Lawrence buried many of those shots, but even in the event they didn’t, they crashed the boards for countless offensive rebounds — something Chesley said has been a major point of emphasis this year.

“We shoot for a percentage of getting at least 50 percent (of offensive rebounds),” Chesley said. “That’s an unheard-of number, but we hit it in a couple preseason games, and I think we might have tonight. When you can get two possessions every time you go down the court, it helps out a lot.”

Lawrence’s size goes a long way toward helping it reach that goal. Both 6 feet tall, Gray and Morrison form a duo in the paint that’s tough for opposing teams to match. Double-digit rebound performances like the ones they had Thursday have been common.

The two have a year of starting experience under their belts after stepping into that role for the first time last year. Both have put in work to get stronger, something that showed in how they outmuscled Gardiner (3-1) throughout the evening Thursday.

“I think we’re the power duo; if she’s inside, I’m outside and can get the pass to her and vice-versa,” Morrison said. “I think we’re just aggressive (as a team). We always want to go get it so we can get another shot or push it in transition.”

Then, there’s Provost, who’s been one of the state’s best players since she was a freshman two years ago. Even though the junior’s shot wasn’t quite falling the way it usually does, she still found a way to get to the line and make plays in the 25-point effort.

“I was in foul trouble, so obviously I need to work on my discipline, but when your teammates lift you up, it’s just a good feeling,” said Provost, who scored 10 of her points in the second quarter. “It makes you want to get back in the game.”

Gardiner, which cut the lead from 19 points to 12 in the second half but would later trail by as many as 27, got 16 points from Taryn Nichols and 13 from Emilee Brown. Jaylynn Carver added eight rebounds.

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