ORLANDO, Fla. — Eddie Mahan’s North Laurel Lady Jaguars finished their play in the Sunshine State with a win over Monsignor Pace on Saturday during the Florida Prospects Tournament.
The Lady Jaguars improved to 8-3 during the process after recording a convincing, 59-37, win.
“I’m extremely proud of my team,” Mahan said. “I’m usually not this excited about a performance in a Christmas Tournament but this tournament had some special teams in it that is rare to see. Their depth of athleticism is something we don’t see very often, especially in three consecutive games like we did.”
Chloe McKnight and Brooke Nichelson led North Laurel with 17 points apiece while Jaelyn Black continued her consistent play with a 14-point scoring effort.
“Chloe McKnight and Brooke Nichelson both had 17 and we expect that or more from them every game, but Jaelyn Black really stepped up today,” Mahan said. “She has another level of play that she hasn’t consistently showed early this season but the last fourbgames she has been a different player. She went 4-for-4 in the first half from 3, and that took our entire offense to a higher level. Her energy was on both sides of the ball, too.”
The Lady Jaguars built a 28-14 lead in the first half before using an 18-8 run in the third quarter to put the game away.
“Monsignor Pace used their physicality and athleticism to limit us to much in the second quarter and caused too many turnovers and no where enough rebounding,” Mahan said. “Our second half rebounding was special though, and that was really the difference in the third quarter that helped us push out our lead. We had three players that ended with double digit in rebounds. Chloe had 13, Brooke had 10 and Mariella had 10. It’s not often that you can have three players rebounding that well. Hopefully, this tournament can help us get ready what is going to be a tough stretch of schedule through January and February.”
