LONDON — The one thing that a North Laurel fan can count on — the Lady Jaguars always respond big after a loss.
Eddie Mahan’s squad avoided losing consecutive games for the first time this season by delivering Pulaski County a 59-43 setback on Monday.
North Laurel was coming off a 16-point loss that saw the Lady Jaguars held to their lowest scoring output (32) of the season.
“We play a lot of good teams throughout the year but I don’t believe we have played any that can shoot the ball any better than Pulaski,” Mahan said. “They have attempted almost 550 3s this season and with the shooters they have, you can understand why. We knew we were going to have to focus in on not just contesting all of their shooters but also tracking down all of the long rebounds that comes from perimeter shooting. Sydney Martin for Pulaski is not just a talented player but she has the ability to just outwork teams. We had to match her intensity as well.
“Brooke Nichelson had another good game with another double-double and Chloe McKnight did a good job especially with all of the attention that was on her,” he added. “But it was the shooting of Jaelyn Black, the rebounding of Gracie McKnight and driving from Haley Combs that made the difference in our offense tonight. We are a different team when they all play like they did. We will have another challenge tomorrow as we play our fourth game in five days against a very talented Southwestern team on the road.”
Mahan’s squad built an 11-8 lead after the first quarter, and increased it to 27-20 at halftime.
North Laurel (19-5) put the game away with an 18-7 run in the third quarter, pushing its lead to 45-27 heading into the fourth quarter.
Brooke Nichelson led the Lady Jaguars with 18 points while Jaelyn Black added 14 points. Chloe McKnight finished with 13 points, and Haley Combs chipped in eight points.
