LEXINGTON — One down, three to go.
After erasing an eight-point deficit with 6:31 remaining in regulation, during their 59-57 first round win over Frederick Douglass on Wednesday, Eddie Mahan’s North Laurel Lady Jaguars (30-6) face the task of finding a way to eliminate state power George Rogers Clark during quarterfinal play of Friday’s Mingua Beef Jerky Girls’ Basketball Sweet 16.
The Lady Cardinals (27-7) held off 12th Region champion Mercer County on Wednesday, and showed they are going to be a tough out.
But Mahan’s squad wouldn’t have it any other way.
The Lady Jaguars have been pushed to the brink of elimination during their past three games, and have found a way to win.
They’ll attempt to do repeat the feat against during Friday’s 1:30 p.m. matchup against George Rogers Clark.
“It is always great to win on the biggest stage for high school basketball,” Mahan said. “However, this is the expectations of our program and we don’t want it to be just every four years either. We want this type of team every year for our program.
“We had multiple huge performances individually but it was a struggle to get it together for 2 and a half quarters,” he added. “We did just enough to hang around until we started to get past our nerves and play with more poise and confidence. I think it goes without saying how good both Emily Sizemore and Brooke Nichelson was Wednesday night but we had multiple people who contributed big to our win. Two of those were Gracie McKnight and Mariella Claybrook. They were big at some of the most important parts of the game.”
North Laurel has played the Lady Cardinals five times with the Lady Jaguars’ lone win coming back on Jan 18, 1999.
The last time the two teams met was on Jan. 15, 2022 with George Rogers Clark coming away with a 74-53 win.
The Lady Cardinals are led by Ciara Byars, and Brianna Byars. Ciara Byars leads George Rogers Clark with an 18.3 scoring average, and a 8.6 rebounding average. Brianna Byars is averaging 14.5 points per game, and 6.3 rebounds per game. Eighth grader Kennedy Stamper averages 8.5 points per game while Anaya Chestnut averages 5.8 points, and 3.8 rebounds per game. Trinity Gay chips in 5.7 points per game.
“GRC is one of those programs that is always mentioned as one of the best in the state every year anymore,” Mahan said. “Coach (Robbie) Graham does a great job and you know he will have them prepared. The Byars are two of the best players in the state too. Those two players can bury you with there play 18-feet in, and with the solid guards they have make them extremely dangerous.
“They are very physical inside and rebound extremely well,” he added. “When they miss, which isn’t that often, they get their own offensive rebound on a regular basis. It is frustrating for a defense to work so hard to get them to miss just for them to get their own rebound and still score.”
Mahan said for his team to win, the Lady Jaguars must match the Lady Cardinals’ physicality.
“The way they are able to physically manhandle you puts teams at a disadvantage,” he said. “We will have to show the same poise we did today but we are going to have to rebound much better.
“I loved the energy our fans brought tonight,” Mahan added. “I know our crowd was a little limited because of a 8:30 p.m. start on a school night but that won’t be the case Friday, so I hope to see an even bigger crowd to help bring us another win.”
