CORBIN — North Laurel’s attempt to repeat as 13th Region champions got off to a good start during first round action of Monday’s 13th Region Girls’ Basketball Tournament.
Brooke Nichelson continues to dominate during postseason play, leading the Lady Jaguars (27-5) with a game-high 34 points.
Nichelson turned her game up another notch, connecting on 13-of-16 shot attempts while hitting all four of her 3-point attempts. She was also 4-for-5 from the free-throw line and finished with seven rebounds.
Chloe McKnight added 14 points while Jaelyn Black finished with eight points.
North Laurel’s defense limited Pineville leading scorer Nadine Johnson to nine points, and 2-of-9 shooting from the floor.
Ava Arnett led the Lady Mountain Lions with 19 points.
As a team, Pineville (20-10) struggled shooting the ball, hitting only 11-of-38 shot attempts from the floor.
North Laurel started out red-hot, taking a 5-0 lead before Pineville connected with its first basket with 4:57 remaining in the first quarter.
Consecutive 3-pointers by Jaelyn Black and Brooke Nichelson pushed the Lady Jaguars’ lead to 11-3 with 4:06 remaining in the period.
Chloe McKnight’s Outback with 2:20 left, gave North Laurel a 15-5 edge.
Another 3-pointer by Black gave the Lady Jaguars an 18-7 advantage entering the second quarter.
North Laurel continued to put its defensive clamps down on the Lady Mountain Lions in the second quarter.
Pineville didn’t score its first basket of the period until the 4:51 mark of the period, cutting the Lady Jaguars’ lead to 20-9.
A 3-pointer by Black and a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Gracie McKnight pushed North Laurel’s advantage to 34-18 at halftime.
Michelson scored 13 points in the first half while McKnight added eight points and Black tossed in six points. North Laurel hit 14-of-29 shot attempts in the first half.
The Lady Jaguars limited Pineville to a 5-of-17 shooting effort in the first two quarters as Rachel Howard led the Mountain Lions with six points.
Pineville trimmed its to 37-21 to open the third quarter but Nichelson connected with a 3-pointer and followed by converting an old-fashioned 3-point play to give North Laurel a 43-21 cushion with 3:41 left in the period. Haley Combs followed with her first 3-pointer of the game, giving her team a 50-21 advantage.
Nichelson scored 14 points during the period, helping the Lady Jaguars’ lead grow to 53-27 entering the fourth quarter.
North Laurel put the finishing touches on the win in the final eight minutes of the game.
