HAZARD — The North Laurel Lady Jaguars punched their ticket into the WYMT Mountain Classic championship game on Saturday with another convincing win.
North Laurel (5-0) turned in one of its best defensive efforts of the season, limiting Knott Central to its lowest point output with a 76-38 win.
“Knott County is hard to prepare for as the they have size at every position,” North Laurel coach Eddie Mahan said. “We knew we would have to get better at pushing the pace. We were able to establish that pressure about half way through the first quarter and was able to set the tone for the rest of the game. In the half court, we are such a good shooting team it makes it tough for bigger teams to zone us. So we utilized that advantage when they tried switching to their 1-3-1.”
The Lady Jaguars were once again led by senior Brooke Nichelson, who scored a game-high 21 points while hitting three 3-pointers in the win. Emma Carl came off the bench and delivered 12 points while Haley Combs also scored 12 points. Bella Sizemore hit three 3-pointers, finishing with 11 points.
North Laurel took control of the game early, outscoring the Lady Patriots 25-7 in the first quarter behind nine points from Nichelson while Mariella Claybrook and Combs scoring four points apiece.
Nichelson added five points while Combs chipped in four points in the second quarter, helping their team take a 41-14 edge into the locker room at halftime.
Seven more points by Nichelson combined with four points from Combs and 3-pointers by Carl and Sizemore pushed the Lady Jaguars’ advantage to 60-23 entering the fourth quarter.
Bella Mahan, Paisley Kilburn and Carl added four points apiece in the final eight minutes, allowing North Laurel to pull away with a 38-point victory.
