The second girls’ city basketball showdown will tip off Friday at Free State.

The Lawrence High girls get underway at 5:30, hoping for a different outcome than the 59-40 loss they suffered Dec. 14.

Although the Lady Lions have struggled to find wins this season, records can be forgotten as the stakes of the rivalry weigh on both teams. Coach Nick Wood expects a different atmosphere than a normal Friday night.

“Obviously, this type of game you know those girls are going to have a high level of energy,” Wood said. “The gym is going to be extremely packed. It’s an important game to them.”

Wood thought his team fought hard Dec. 14, but when the pace of the game slowed down to favor Free State, the Lions had too many turnovers to come away with a win.

“We don’t want to get in a situation where we are playing them in the half court,” Wood said. “We need to find some sort of way to junk it up and get the game going up and down in our pace so we aren’t allowing them to bring pressure to us.”

The Lions forced seven first quarter turnovers during the last city showdown and trailed just 14-12 at the beginning of the second quarter. Wood said the extra possessions were necessary for the team to have success offensively.

Wood needs a similar intensity through four quarters.

“We are going to have to switch things up and try to make them as uncomfortable as possible so we can put ourselves in a situation to be successful,” Wood said.

Looking at previous Free State match-ups, the team hasn’t gotten the outcome members desired. The girls haven’t won a Free State game since 2008.

Seniors Brianna Anderson, Emma Kelly, Kylie Seaman and Anna Wright have never been able to get a victory over their crosstown rivals. Despite their struggles against Free State in the past, they expect to bring a high level of intensity, hoping to finally show the Firebirds they are capable of competing throughout the whole game.

“It would mean a lot [to win] because we haven’t won one ever since I’ve been here, so just finally winning one, on my last chance, it would mean a lot,” Wright said.