Eddie Mahan has challenged his team throughout the season with one of the top slates in the state.
Just a day removed of defeating defending 13th Region champion Corbin, North Laurel was faced with another challenge on Saturday, a matchup against No. 9 Ryle.
The Lady Jaguars led entering the fourth quarter before falling, 56-54.
“When I scheduled this game the day after Corbin, I knew it would be a challenge,” Mahan admitted. “It’s also what we needed to learn how to fight through adversity.
“I thought we did that overall well today as we played well enough defensively to win,” he added. “It was on the offensive side of the ball that we looked stagnant. You could tell our legs were not recovered from last night but they still fought hard. Ryle is one of the better teams in the state and with their size you can see why.”
North Laurel (22-6) trailed 16-13 at the end of the first quarter, and 28-22 at halftime before the Lady Jaguars used a 20-12 run in the third quarter to take a 42-40 advantage into the final period of play.
The game was nip and tuck throughout the final eight minutes before the Lady Raiders took advantage of some miscues during the final three minutes to get the win.
“After multiple runs but both teams throughout the game it was the last three minutes of the game that cost us the game,” Mahan said. “We struggled to score and defensively played so hard we would get out of position which would lead to their open looks on the rotation.”
Senior Emily Sizemore continued her impressive play, finishing with 23 points while Chloe McKnight added 13 points, and Brooke Nichelson tossed in 10 points.
The Lady Jaguars will have another tough test on Tuesday at home against Southwestern. The game is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.
