LEXINGTON — North Laurel’s run for a KHSAA Girls’ Sweet 16 championship came to an abrupt end during Wednesday’s first round action
The Lady Jaguars (29-6) got off to a slow start and never recovered during their 51-30 loss to Franklin County.
It also didn’t help that leading scorer Brooke Nichelson battled foul trouble the entire game before fouling out while playing only 20 minutes.
“Congratulations to Coach Thacker and Franklin County,” North Laurel coach Eddie Mahan said. “Coach Thacker did a great job of having a good game plan defensively to slow us down and I did a horrible job of adjusting and getting Brooke Nichelson and Chloe McKnight the ball in the right spots. Once they got the lead and pushed it to a comfortable amount toward the end of the third quarter, they switched to a 3-2 defense that did a great job of slowing us down and making us run precious time off the clock which basically put the game away.
“Even though tonight is more than disappointing, it still does not take away all that these girls have accomplished,” he added. “I’m proud of my seniors and the leadership and play they have gave us. I know I will never forget them. I hope my younger players see what it takes to be winners and if they do, North Laurel will only continue to get better from here.”
North Laurel trailed 9-7 entering the second quarter but the Lady Flyers (30-6) responded with a 17-7 run in the second quarter and never looked back.
The Lady Jaguars managed to cut their deficit to single digits (31-23) after a putback by Mariella Claybrook at the 3:52 mark of the third quarter, but Franklin County closed the game by going on a 20-7 run.
The Lady Flyers won the battle of the boards, 29-21, while limiting North Laurel to 11-of-40 shooting from the floor, including 0-for-12 from 3-point range, and only four assists.
Franklin County shot 18-of-35 from the floor, and 4-of-11 from behind the arc. The Lady Flyers also hit 11-of-15 free throw attempts.
Rachel Shropshire led Franklin County with 14 points while Keyonna Taylor added 12 points.
Claybrook turned in a game-high 10 points for the Lady Jaguars while Haley Combs finished with seven points and Nichelson added six points. Chloe McKnight added five points while Jaelyn Black chipped in two points.
