LAWRENCE — Amber Wooding and KJ Williams did their thing as usual, but the still under-the-radar freshmen whose names are hard to spell and pronounce continued to make their presence felt.

The Cardinals have two legitimate stars for defenses to worry about, which leaves ninth graders Nell Straczynski and Claire Gorczynski free to operate in whatever ways necessary.

Gorczynski collected eight points, six rebounds, two steals one assist and one blocked shot and Straczynski had seven rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block to help Lawrence to a 63-43 victory over rebuilding Hightstown Friday afternoon.

“It’s such a breath of fresh air to see kids come in and just love the game,” coach Dana Williams said. “They love to play. They’re willing to learn. They’re so coachable, they listen to the seniors giving advice. They’re both awesome.”

Both players crashed the starting lineup, which Gorczynski did not expect.

“I didn’t even know I would make varsity,” the guard said. “I thought there was a chance but I wasn’t sure. Nell and I have been playing on the same team for a long time, so it’s great to have someone I’m that connected with to be with on varsity.”

Straczynski, who stands 5-10, agreed, saying that, “Varsity is a big difference coming from middle school basketball, but having Claire with me makes it a lot easier. We’ve been playing together a long time, so it helps a lot to have that bond on the floor.”

As usual, the Cards’ inside-out combo did the major damage as Wooding had a career-high 31 points, six rebounds, five steals and two assists, while Williams collected her fifth double-double this season with 12 points, 15 rebounds, three steals, two blocks and an assist.

“We’ve got our two bigs that everyone knows about but it takes a team,” Williams said. “Our post game, the bench, the energy, it’s everything.”

Williams’ & Wooding’s presence has helped make things easier for the freshmen.

“It’s great to have two people to look up to that give feedback and things like that,” Gorczynski said. “It’s just awesome to have those people. They drive and kick and help us get chances.”

And even if they’re not scoring, they are defending.

“Sometimes I don’t score as much,” Straczynski said. “But we both do our part on the defensive side. It’s important to have defense over offense because it helps you score. We beat them by 20 and we used to get blown out by 50 against them.”

No matter if it was 50 or five, Lawrence’s struggles with the Rams had been long-lasting. This was the Cards’ first victory over Hightstown since Dec. 22, 2015. The Rams won nine straight since then.

“I have the utmost respect for Hightstown, (coach) Jenna Marcus is amazing with that program,” Williams said. “It feels really good for us as a program to be back on the map, whether it’s Hightstown, Hopewell, Allentown. Just to be competitive again is so nice. It’s a huge tribute to the kids; they’re the ones going out there and playing.”

Lawrence (5-3) wasted little time taking control, scoring the game’s first 11 points and taking a 16-4 lead after one quarter as Wooding scored nine. The Rams tried to hang in and got within nine at 23-14 midway through the second, but would never get closer. Gorczynski was happy to see that.

“It really keeps us with more confidence,” she said. “When it’s a close game our team rushes. To keep a big lead, it helps us calm down and play better.”

Behind 14 points by Wooding – some of them slightly spectacular – Lawrence blew it open in the third quarter thanks to a defensive blitz that helped force 18 turnovers overall. Kimyah Carter aided the cause with five steals to go along with six points.

“Defense is what we’ve really been focused on this season,” said Williams, whose team’s three losses have come against teams with a combined 14-4 record. “I’m proud of how hard we played them today. They’re a tough team. Hayley (DeKok) is an amazing player, so we knew we had our work cut out for us. I liked our tenacity on defense and with our rebounding. Scoring is great, but we focus on those two intangibles.”

DeKok, a sophomore, had 15 points as she continued to be Hightstown’s offensive bright light. Jasleen Khosa added 12.

Marcus was decimated by graduation and is spending the early part of the season playing mix and match.

Asked how the growing pains are going, the veteran coach chuckled.

“They’re coming along, I guess,” she said. “Not only are we rebuilding but we have a lot of girls that aren’t experienced with varsity play, so we’re trying to figure out the pieces of the puzzle and put them together, and it’s taking some time.

“We were a very offensive-minded team the last few years. I’ve been trying to instill defense, energy, hustle, effort, and that’s what I’m getting. So moral victory-wise I see progress in that area. Hopefully it will come.”

HIGHTSTOWN (43)

DeKok 5-2-15, Gulli 2-4-8, Khosa 5-0-12, Mascoll 1-0-2, Sweeney 1-0-2, Towie 0-0-0, Wersching 2-0-4.

Totals: 16-6-43

LAWRENCE (63)

Wooding 13-3-31, Williams 5-2-12, Carter 2-2-6, Straczynski 0-0-0, Gorczynski 3-1-8, Orashen 0-0-0, Boucicaut 0-0-0, Swaroop 0-0-0, Cohen 1-0-3, Walter 1-0-3.

Totals: 25-8-63

Hightstown (0-5) 4 15 9 15 – 43

Lawrence (5-3) 18 13 20 12 – 63

3-point goals: DeKok 3, Khosa 2, Wooding 2, Gorczynski, Cohen, Walter.