North Laurel’s eight-game win streak came to an end in an uncharacteristic way on Thursday.
The Lady Jaguars (19-5) are known to put away their opponents while leading in the fourth quarter.
That wasn’t the case against Leslie County.
Eddie Mahan’s squad saw a 40-32 advantage turn into a 49-45 loss after North Laurel only scored three points during the game’s final eight minutes.
The Lady Jaguars rallied from a 25-22 deficit at halftime while outscoring the Lady Eagles, 18-7, in the third quarter to grab the eight-point edge.
“I did not have our girls ready to play the physical type of basketball that tonight turned into,” Mahan said. “For us to be the team we need to be in the postseason, consistency has to be improved.
“I hate to lose but honestly it is these types of games we need,” he added. “Leslie might not have the best record of our opponents but play hard every possession and never go away. Their physicality put us in a stressful environment and that once again showed who was mentally ready for the game. You could see it most on the offensive side for us. We missed six layups or open put backs in the first four minutes of the game. In our minds we were more worried about the contact than the finish.
“No time to rest though, our girls have a tough district matchup tomorrow night and it will be senior night for Emily Sizemore,” he added. “We will have to mentally bounce back quickly.”
Emily Sizemore led North Laurel with 15 points while Brooke Nichelson added 10 points. Chloe McKnight scored eight points while Bella Sizemore finished with five points.
The Lady Jaguars will out their 39-game 49th District win streak on the line Friday at home against Jackson County. The two teams played on Jan. 17 with North Laurel coming away with a 55-48 win.
