LONDON — All eyes were on The Jungle Tuesday when No. 7 North Laurel hosted the state’s eighth ranked team, unbeaten Madison Central.
The Lady Jaguars dominated from the get-go, leading by more than 20 points before pulling off a 65-53 win.
North Laurel senior Brooke Nichelson continues to show she’s one of the top players in the state, finishing with a game-high 37 points while going 8-of-11 from the free-throw line.
The win improved the Lady Jaguars to 19-1 while the Lady Indians falls to 21-1.
Things don’t get any easier for North Laurel on Thursday with a crosstown showdown against the region’s hottest team, South Laurel, who has won 12 games in a row.
“Wins against good opponents is what we strive to do during the regular season,” North Laurel coach Eddie Mahan said. “Each of these games will help prepare us for the postseason run that we are striving to have. Madison Central is not just one of the top teams in the state but has made it to February undefeated. They are extremely talented and well-coached. We won’t see that type of guard play very often.
“We knew we were going to attack them with our size and Mariella Claybrook and Brooke Nichelson did a good job with it,” he added. “Honestly it relaxes our team knowing they always have the best player on the floor in Brooke. Her athleticism and skill is a tough matchup for anyone but when you also have a D1 6’2 player like Claybrook along side of her we are going to utilize those players. You add that with our senior leadership and some of the best young players and we can be dangerous.
“We don’t have much time to celebrate though as we have a tough stretch as we are in the middle of five games in seven days with each game being important,” he added. “We will find out a lot about our team in the next week.”
Against Madison Central, the Lady Jaguars established themselves early, taking an 18-12 lead before finding themselves ahead, 18-14 entering the second quarter.
Nichelson scored 13 points during the game’s first eight minutes before adding 10 points in the second quarter as the Lady Jaguars held a 39-20 advantage at halftime.
Nichelson continued to dominate in the third quarter, adding 10 more points as North Laurel’s lead grew to 55-33 entering the fourth quarter.
Madison Central rallied in the final eight minutes, outscoring the Lady Jaguars, 20-10, and got as close as 10 points, but the damage was already done.
