South Laurel and Knox Central ready to tip-off in battle of 13th Region heavyweights
CORBIN — Two of the 13th Region’s top teams will do battle with a spot in the 13th Region title game in the line when 50th District champion South Laurel faces off against 51st District champion Knox Central.
The Lady Cardinals (24-5) have turned in an excellent season so far.
Coach Tod Winland has done a fantastic job during his first year as head coach at South Laurel.
He guided the Lady Cardinals to a 50th District championship, and a top 20 ranking in the state while handing No. 6 ranked North Laurel its lone loss against regional teams this season,
South Laurel is the lone team that has an unbeaten record against regional teams at 15-0.
The Lady Cardinals are 19-1 dating back to Dec. 29, 2024.
They’re led in scoring by Maci Messer, who averages 14.4 points per game while Skeeter Mabe is tossing in 9.5 points per game and Jamie Buenaventura is averaging 9.3 points per game. Callie Jones tosses in 8.4 points per game while Aubrey Bundy is averaging 4.2 points per game.
Buenaventura leads the team with a 6.9 rebounding average while Ryleigh Bretz is pulling down 4.7 boards per game. Mabe is averaging 4.6 rebounds per game while Messer is averaging 4.2 rebounds per game.
South Laurel’s success has come from playing solid defense. The Lady Cardinals have limited 18 opponents to under 40 points or less this season.
It’s going to be a hard task to do that to Knox Central, though.
Steve Warren’s squad is winners of 14 straight, and hasn’t lost since a 79-72 setback to Corbin way back on Jan. 13.
The Lady Panthers possess one of the top players in the state in senior Halle Collins, who is averaging 19.9 points and 13.5 rebounds per game. She has over 100 career double-doubles.
Shelbie Mills is averaging 18.6 points per game while McKenzie Hensley, who is one of the most underrated players in the region is averaging 8.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. Hannah Melton averages 5.2 points and 3.4 rebounds per game while Maggie Gibson is averaging 4.8 points per game.
As a team, Knox Central is scoring 68.5 points per game.
The two teams haven’t met since Dec. 14, 2023 with the Lady Cardinals pulling out a 72-45 win. South Laurel is 16-2 against Knox Central dating back to 1998.
Lady Jaguars looking to advance to third straight 13th Region title game but must get past Corbin first
CORBIN — Eddie Mahan’s North Laurel Lady Jaguars are looking to advance to their third consecutive 13th Region Girls’ Tournament championship game, they must get past Corbin, who they defeated in last season’s title game, 61-49, to repeat as regional champions.
North Laurel (29-2) has won seven region tournament games in a row, and possesses a 15-3 record in region tournament since 2019.
The Lady Redhounds (18-10) aren’t a stranger to success come March.
They’re the last team to beat North Laurel in 13th Region Tournament play (2022), stringing together a 7-2 record in regional tournament play since 2022, when they won the region title.
The two teams met in Corbin on Feb. 13 with the Lady Jaguars pulling off a 67-50 win.
Senior Brooke Nichelson had a huge game, scoring 36 points while grabbing 13 rebounds.
Nichelson started her dominance in the first quarter, scoring 12 points while hitting three of her five 3-pointers during the period, helping North Laurel jump out to a 19-8 lead.
She added seven points in the second quarter while Bella Sizemore hit two 3-pointers to make the score, 34-23, in the Lady Jaguars’ favor at halftime.
Sizemore added two more 3-pointers in the third quarter while Mariella Claybrook scored seven points, allowing North Laurel to take a 49-37 edge with eight minutes remaining.
Nichelson took over in the fourth quarter, scoring 17 points as the Lady Jaguars cruised to a 17-point win.
Sizemore finished with five 3-pointers and 15 points while Claybrook finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Kylie Clem led Corbin with 24 points while Raegan Walker added 14 points.
