It’s become the norm to see Eddie Mahan’s North Laurel Lady Jaguars playing in the finals of the 13th Region Girls’ Tournament.
After falling in the semifinals last year, North Laurel guaranteed it’s fifth appearance in the finals during the past six years by slipping past crosstown rival South Laurel on Saturday, 67-63.
The win, the Lady Jaguars’ fourth in a row over the Lady Cardinals, and third this season, improved North Laurel to 28-6 while South Laurel finished the season with a 19-15 mark.
“You can give a lot of credit to South Laurel and even more to Emily Cox, as they would never give up,” North Laurel coach Eddie Mahan said. “We came out and got a good lead early but then they began to live at the foul line and it changed the game. It put some of our starters in foul trouble and South was getting easy points.
“In the fourth quarter, it was more foul trouble, Emily Cox hitting big shots and some trouble with their press,” he added. “What was easy baskets for us early when they pressed became bad decisions in the last few minutes. Brooke (Nichelson) had another tremendous game but was limited because of the fouls. Bella Sizemore had a very good first half and we will need to see that again tomorrow. I will never be able to say enough about our senior leader. You can tell she is on a mission. It’s not just her scoring, as she is changing the game in every way possible. Her control of the tempo was key today.”
Sophomore Brooke Nichelson turned in what might have been her best game as a Lady Jaguar, leading her team with 28 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the floor. She also had three 3-pointers, three rebounds, and two assists while senior Emily Sizemore finished with 24 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and two steals.
Bella Sizemore added 10 points and six rebounds for the Lady Jaguars while Gracie McKnight added three points, and Jaelyn Black scored two points.
After holding a 29-26 advantage at halftime, North Laurel outscored the Lady Cardinals, 19-11, and took a 48-37 cushion into the fourth quarter before holding on to the four-point victory.
South Laurel outscored the Lady Jaguars, 26-19, in the final eight minutes but couldn’t finish off the rally.
“Hats off to NL,” South Laurel coach Chris Souder said. “They answered every run we threw at them. We had a chance but just ran out of time. I couldn’t be more proud of a team as I am this one. Our kids had several opportunities to quit but they refused. “Our kids left everything they had on the court,” he added. “We will miss Emily (Cox) she is the epitome of what we want this program to represent. Our future is definitely promising and our young kids got a taste of where we want to get to.”
North Laurel shot 24-of-50 from the floor while hitting 6-of-17 shot attempts from behind the arc. The Lady Jaguars outrebounded the Lady Cardinals, 28-26, and forced South Laurel into 14 turnovers.
Skeeter Mabe, and Emily Cox each scored 17 points apiece for the Lady Cardinals. Mabe finished with eight rebounds, three assists, and two blocked shots while Cox had six rebounds, hit 4-of-7 from 3-point range, finished with two blocks, one steal, and one assist.
Shelbie Mills finished with 11 points, two assists, and two steals while Aubrey Bundy had six points, Maci Messer followed with five points, Jamie Buenaventura totaled four points, and Kenlee Murray added three points.
It looked as if North Laurel had a chance to put the game away early after the Lady Jaguars jumped out to a 17-5 lead in the first quarter.
Emily Sizemore scored seven points during the opening period while Brooke Nichelson added five points.
But things quickly changed in the second quarter.
South Laurel settled down on both ends of the court, and outscored North Laurel, 21-12, to cut its deficit to 29-26 at halftime.
There were concerns going into the locker room for the Lady Cardinals. South Laurel’s Aubrey Bundy, Emily Cox, and Shelbie Mills each had two fouls apiece.
The Lady Cardinals won the rebounding edge in the first half which led them to get back into the game. South Laurel outrebounded the Lady Jaguars, 16-12, but committed nine turnovers.
Chris Souder’s squad hit 8-of-24 shot attempts, including going 3-of-11 from behind the arc.
Peyton Mabe led the Lady Cardinals with nine points, and five rebounds while Bundy had six points, and three assists.
North Laurel shot 11-of-16 from the floor, including a 5-of-12 effort from 3-point range. Emily Sizemore had 11 points, five rebounds, and three assists while Bella Sizemore had 10 points, and Brooke Nichelson had added eight points.
North Laurel is now 17-14 overall in the 13th Region Tournament. The Lady Jaguars will be participating in their fifth 13th Region Tournament title game on Sunday. They are 1-3 in the region title game with their lone regional championship coming in 2019 when they defeated Harlan County, 73-33, which in turn is the largest margin of victory in a 13th Region Tournament game.
The loss dropped South Laurel to 22-12 overall in the 13th Region Tournament. The Lady Cardinals had reached the last three 13th Region Tournament games.
