It wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t pretty, but Eddie Mahan’s North Laurel Lady Jaguars did just enough to bring home the girls’ basketball program’s second 13th Region championship.
The Lady Jaguars trailed throughout its matchup against a much-improved Jackson County, and pulled off a 42-39 victory.
North Laurel trailed, 8-6 at the end of the first quarter, 19-16 at halftime, and 30-27 entering the fourth quarter before outscoring the Lady Generals, 15-9, to collect the come from behind victory.
Tournament MVP Emily Sizemore turned in another stellar effort, leading the way with 21 points, and five rebounds while knocking down 11-of-14 free throw attempts.
“What a game,” Emily Sizemore said. “Through the whole game I thought we had a chance. We were never out of the ball game in my opinion. Our shots might have not fallen at first, a low-scoring game in North Laurel history, but I don’t care, when the buzzer went off, as long as we were one ahead. “That’s the moment I would take for the rest of my life,” she added.As long as we are winning. I told them I don’t care how ugly, nasty or physical it was, I’m just glad we are on top.”
The Lady Jaguars (29-6) held a slim 40-39 advantage with 33.3 seconds remaining as Chloe McKnight hit her first free throw attempts before missing her second. Gracie McKnight got the huge rebound off the Miss, and threw the ball to Emily Sizemore, who was fouled and sent to the line with 11 seconds remaining.
Emily Sizemore hit 1-of-2 free throw attempts to give her team a 42-39 advantage, and Jackson County followed with a missed 3-pointer, allowing North Laurel to secure the win.
“Jackson County gave us everything we could handle,” North Laurel coach Eddie Mahan said. “I’m just so proud of my kids. Obviously, Emily Sizemore with her senior leadership, you could tell she rose to the occasion after she struggled there for the first couple of quarters.
“It was a complete team effort,” he added. “You had Gracie McKnight that hit a big shot, and Jaelyn Black did a great job defensively just with energy. She had a couple of blocked shots, and steals, she was everywhere. Chloe after struggling some, with Jackson County’s size, you can see why. She came in strong in the end, and hit coke key free throws.
“That’s the hard thing for everyone to understand, this is a team effort. You’re never going to win with just a superstar. It doesn’t work like that. This is our second (championship) in the last four years, and each team was very special because they were selfless.”
The Lady Jaguars are now 33-0 against the Lady Generals since 2007 while running their win streak against 49th District opponents to 42-0.
North Laurel is now 18-14 overall in the 13th Region Tournament, and 2-3 in regional title games. The loss dropped Jackson County to 25-20 all-time in the 13th Region Tournament.
Chloe McKnight finished with seven points, and six rebounds in the win for North Laurel while Jaelyn Black added six points, three rebounds, two steals, one assist, and one block. Brooke Nichelson battled foul trouble for most of the game, finished with three points, seven rebounds, one assist, and five steals. Mariella Claybrook had three points while Gracie McKnight finished with two points, a rebound, and one assist.
North Laurel shot 14-of-49 from the floor, including a 1-of-13 shooting effort from 3-point range. The Lady Jaguars were 13-of-20 from the free-throw line and after getting outrebounded in the first half, managed to win the battle of the boards, 28-27.
North Laurel only had six turnovers while forcing Jackson County into 15 miscues.
Kenady Ward led the Lady Generals (22-10) with 12 points, five rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. Kylee Shannon had 10 points, four rebounds, and three assists while Abby Gilbert added seven points, 14 rebounds, and six assists. Madison Marcum finished with six points while Maddison Curry finished with three points, and Adycin Truett scored one point.
Jackson County hit 16-of-40 shot attempts, including 1-of-9 from behind the arc. The Lady Generals also hit 6-of-8 free throw attempts. They only had four offensive rebounds compared to the Lady Jaguars’ 11.
Jackson County controlled the momentum in the first half, and it showed on the scoreboard.
The Lady Generals built an early 8-6 lead heading into the second quarter before taking a 19-16 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
Tyra’s squad connected on 9-of-21 shot attempts, including a 0-5 effort from 3-point range. Jackson County was winning the battle of the boards at 12-10 while forcing North Laurel into five turnovers.
Ward dominated in the paint, scoring eight points on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor while Abby Gilbert led the way with seven rebounds. She also added three points, four assists, and one steal.
The Lady Jaguars never got any rhythm going in the first half, hitting 6-of-20 shot attempts while knocking down 1-of-5 shot attempts from 3-point range.
Emily Sizemore led North Laurel with seven points, and three rebounds while Jaelyn Black had four points, and an assist.
“Their game plan slowed us down, and made us play a slow down, grind it out possession game,” Mahan said. “I’ll be honest with you, that was more up their alley than ours.
“We had to make some changes,” he added. “We started pressing a bit, and we couldn’t ever get set up in our press. It was hard for us, I think we were shellshocked.”
The Lady Jaguars will now face-off against 11th Region champion Frederick Douglas, who defeated Lexington Catholic, 66-51, during Saturday’s 11th Region title game.
North Laurel defeated the Lady Broncos on Frederick Douglas’ home court on Jan. 21 with a 66-53 decision. The two teams will square-off on Wednesday, March 8 at 8:30 p.m.
“This is so different than 2019 in one way,” Mahan said. “I think this team is going in with the mindset that we can make a deep run. In 2019, it was our school’s first, and we were happy to be there. We really weren’t sure how things worked out.
“This year’s team is prepared,” he added. “You’ve got to have a good game every game up there. I’m not saying you can make that run but at the end of the day, I think this team is going in with the mentality that they can.”
