GATLINBURG, TENN. — A four-day layoff led to some early rustiness for Eddie Mahan’s North Laurel Lady Jaguars during opening round action of the Smoky Mountain Classic.
But in the end, North Laurel shook off the rust, and improved to 7-0 with a 62-33 win over Alabama’s Briarwood Christian School.
“We for sure had some rust in this game,” Mahan said. “I don’t know if it was the full day of finals, the trip down or just that we didn’t have our normal practice schedule this week, but we didn’t play to our full potential. This will hopefully be the game that gets us ready for the rest of the tournament.”
The Lady Jaguars built a 24-2 lead in the first quarter behind 12 points from Brooke Nichelson and six points from Haley Combs.
North Laurel’s lead grew to 39-12 at halftime before the Lady Jaguars wrapped up the win in the second half, outscoring their opponents, 24-21.
Nichelson led North Laurel with 14 points while Combs and Bella Sizemore scored 12 points apiece.
