LONDON — South Laurel made it a baker’s dozen on Thursday, stunning crosstown rival and No. 7 ranked North Laurel with a stunning 40-36 win on Thursday at The Jungle.
The Lady Cardinals snapped a seven-game losing skid to their crosstown rivals, defeating them for the first time since a 63-57 victory in the 13th Region title game on March 29, 2021.
South Laurel’s four-point win also snapped North Laurel’s 15-game win streak against 13th Region opponents.
The Lady Cardinals have now won 13 games in a row, improving to 18-4 while the Lady Jaguars fell to 19-2.
Tod Windlan’s squad entered the game as the region’s most stingiest defense, surrendering only 36.4 points per game.
The Lady Cardinals were right on target with their season average, limiting North Laurel to only 12 points at halftime while leading, 17-12.
South Laurel’s defense limited Lady Jaguar leading scorer Brooke Nichelson to only two points entering the fourth quarter before she exploded for 13 points in the final eight minutes.
The Lady Cardinals held a 29-16 advantage with own quarter to play, and managed to hold off a late rally by North Laurel to secure their biggest win of the season.
“Great team win,” Windlan said. “So proud of my kids and the fight they brought to the game. Thought we had chances to really put the game away but missed a few easy shots and too many free throws.
“Our defense was very good and kids followed the game plan well,” he added. “We had some hiccups in the fourth quarter where we got out of position but for the most part it was very solid.
“Jamie Buenaventura had 13 points and 15 rebounds — she was outstanding,” Windlan continued. “Skeeter Mabe had nine points and six rebounds, and played terrific defense throughout the night. Aubrey Bundy was everywhere and had six points and seven rebounds, and got two big free throws to seal the win. Callie Jones had four points, Ryleigh Bretz four points and Maci Messer four points. Bretz had a great 1st half for us off the bench!
We are back in action Saturday at 2 p.m. versus Campbell County — a great opponent for us. So proud to be a Southside Cardinal, and we had great support from our community.”
Jamie Buenaventura led South Laurel with 13 points while Skeeter Mabe added nine points.
Nichelson led all scorers with 15 points while Bella Lewis and Paisley Kilburn scored five points apiece.
“Overconfidence and bad coaching put us in a bad spot from the beginning,” North Laurel coach Eddie Mahan said. “Coach Windlan did a great job game planning for us and we played right into it. These are the games that you have to learn from. They had discipline and we had frustration. They out executed us, out-rebounded us and wanted it more than us.”
