LONDON — The defending 13th Region champion North Laurel Lady Jaguars captured their fifth consecutive win over crosstown rival South Laurel on Thursday for the first time since since winning six straight against the Lady Cardinals from Feb. 3, 2014 to Jan. 9, 2017.
Powered by junior Brooke Nichelson’s 27 points, North Laurel captured a 55-40 win over the Lady Cardinals on a night South Laurel honored former Laurel County Hall of Fame coach Roy Bowling with the school’s basketball court dedication.
“First off, I want to thank South Laurel and Coach Souder for making sure all of Laurel County was included in dedicating the floor to Coach Roy Bowling,” North Laurel coach Eddie Mahan said. “Coach Bowling is not only a tremendous coach but a tremendous person who I have admired long before I coached her at North Laurel. It means a lot to me personally to have been the first Laurel County team to have won on that floor named after a Laurel County and statewide coaching legend.”
Mariella Claybrook also scored in double figures, finishing with 10 points, and 15 rebounds for the unbeaten Lady Jaguars, who are now 2-0, after defeating two of the 13th Region’s top five ranked teams. Chloe McKnight followed with a nine-point scoring effort while Jaelyn Black added four points. Haley Combs (three points), and Emma Carl (two points) also scored for North Laurel.
“We came out in the first 12 minutes of the game playing the way I wanted us to,” Mahan said. “Foul trouble and fatigue became an issue after that and we struggled to score much of the game after that. It was our size and rebounding that kept us in control of the game.
“Brooke had a good game with 27 points and 12 rebounds but I still felt like she left a lot out there. She is a unique athlete,” he added. “Mariella Claybrook looked like a freshman at times tonight but still had 10 points and 15 rebounds that really helped out it away tonight. As she gets more comfortable offensively she will be an even greater asset to us and can’t wait to see just how good she will end up being.”
Shelbie Mills led South Laurel (0-1) with 22 points, hitting two 3-pointers while finishing 12-of-13 from the free-throw line. Skeeter Mabe added 11 points while Maci Messer (four points), and Kenna Andes (three points) followed.
“North Laurel is such a veteran team right now and we are just the opposite,” South Laurel coach Chris Souder said. “So, rough first game but I told our kids I wouldn’t have it any other way by exposing what we have been preaching in practice. We did some really good things defensively in the second half. We shot horrible but some of that has so do with NL length and size. We will be a good basketball team our kids will continue to work.
“It was a great community game honoring a Legend in Coach Bowling,” he added. “I’m just glad to be a small part of it.”
Nicholson started red hot out of the gate, scoring 14 points while hitting all three of her made 3-pointers during the first quarter to give the Lady Jaguars an 18-9 advantage.
Claybrook added five points in the second quarter while Nichelson added three points as North Laurel outscored the Lady Cardinals, 14-6, in the second quarter to build a comfortable 32-15 advantage at halftime. South Laurel was held without a field goal during the period, scoring all of its points from the free-throw line (6-of-10).
Mills caught the hot-hand during the third quarter, scoring seven points while hitting all four of her free throw shots, as the Lady Cardinals outscored the Lady Jaguars, 11-10, to cut their deficit to 42-26 entering the final quarter of play.
Nichelson wrapped up North Laurel’s win with eight points in the final eight minutes while hitting 6-of-8 shot attempts from the free-throw line. South Laurel outscored the Lady Jaguars, 14-13, during the period behind six points from Mabe, five points from Mills, and three points by Andes.
“Going forward though, we have to do a better job at getting the ball to Chloe McKnight in the paint,” Mahan said. “We were timid to pass it and Chloe was frustrated, as typical in our region, they allow players to be extremely physical on a post player and call weak fouls against them. She will have to adjust and not let that bother her as much going forward.”
