LEXINGTON — Eddie Mahan’s North Laurel Lady Jaguars will be making their third trip into the Clark-Pump-N-Shop KHSAA Girls’ Sweet 16 quarterfinals for the third time in program history after rallying from a seven-point second half deficit to knock off Ashland, 51-42.
“I thought we got to see just how special this group is today,” Mahan said. “We showed some nerves early, but overcame a slow start and got the win.
“We never backed down and we panicked once we got behind seven points in the third quarter,” he added. “We came back and got the job done, and was able to advance.”
Senior Brooke Nichelson showed the fans at Rupp Arena what fans at The Corbin Arena saw last week — that’s she’s one of the best in the business.
Nichelson tallied the Lady Jaguars’ first 10 points of the game and finished with a game-high 28 points while pulling down 10 rebounds. Mariella Claybrook finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds while Bella Sizemore added nine points and four rebounds.
“Brooke has been here before, but the pressure wasn’t on her,” Mahan said. “She knew had to do better this year, and she did. She played fantastic today. She was aggressive and she handled the pressure well. She came up big when we needed her to.”
The Lady Jaguars started out of the gate slow, falling behind 6-2 with 4:19 remaining in the first quarter, but Nichelson answered with three consecutive baskets, giving her team an 8-6 lead entering the second quarter.
North Laurel shot 4-of-11 from the floor and out-rebounded the Kittens, 11-8, while holding them to a to 2-of-14 shooting effort.
Both teams continued struggling shooting, but Ashland did just enough tomorrow North Laurel, 14-12, sending the game tied at 20 apiece entering halftime.
Nichelson picked up her second foul of the game with 3:40 left in the quarter which led to Claybrook scoring six of the Lady Jaguars’ final eight points of the first half.
The Kittens held leads of 15-12 and 20-18, but Claybrook knocked down a shot at the buzzer to tie the game at 20 apiece.
North Laurel shot 10-of-21 from the floor in the first half, but turned in an 0-4 effort from 3-point range. The Lady Jaguars out-rebounded Ashland, 17-15 while holding the Kittens to 7-of-27 from the floor, and a 1-of-11 effort from behind the arc.
North Laurel turned the ball over 12 times in the first half leading to nine Ashland points.
Nichelson led the Lady Jaguars with 12 points and seven rebounds while Claybrook added six points.
Kenleigh Woods led the Kittens with nine points while Brookelyn Duckwyler had seven points.
The Kittens opened a 34-27 lead in the third quarter with 2:57 left thanks to consecutive 3-pointers by Woods.
North Laurel responded with a 10-1 run to close out the period while taking a 37-35 lead into the fourth quarter after free throws by Sizemore.
Nichelson added eight points while Claybrook and Sizemore each added four points apiece.
Michelson opened the fourth quarter with an old-fashioned 3-point play, pushing the Lady Jaguars’ lead to 40-35 with 7:46 left in regulation.
North Laurel’s lead grew to 42-35 after another basket by Nichelson, but Ashland hit three free throws to cut its deficit to 42-38 at the 3:15 mark.
Nichelson answered again 15 seconds later with what could turn out to be the play do the tournament with an up and under move going for two points, pushing her team’s lead to 44-38.
Sizemore added two free throws with 2:45 left, giving the Lady Jaguars a 46-38 lead.
North Laurel sealed the deal from the free-throw line and will be back in action Friday at 11 a.m.”It’s great to advance,” Mahan said. “What’s been great about this team is they don’t give up. They keep fighting. We didn’t panic today, even when we behind seven points. The girls have the mentality they’re going to win, and they shows that today.”
