LONDON — The South Laurel Lady Cardinals opened the 2025-26 campaign with an impressive road victory Tuesday, defeating Rockcastle County, 57-43, to start the season 1-0. South Laurel will now turn its attention to a major early-season test Friday when the Lady Cardinals travel to face No. 1 ranked Sacred Heart.
“Great way to start the season off and thought our defense was very solid,” South Laurel coach Tod Windlan said. “We held King to one field and zero points in the second half and limited Spivey to eight points.
“I thought offensively Skeeter Mabe was really aggressive and got us off to a great start,” he added. “We also had four players in double figures with Callie Jones 16, Maci Messer 12, Skeeter Mabe 10 and Aubrey Bundy 10. Kenzie Fannin played very well off the bench with five points and Emma Adams and Shelby Smith gave us quality minutes as well. We went 10-for-10 from free-throw line in second half and 13-of-16 for the game. Proud of our program and we are on the road at No. 1Sacred Heart Academy on Friday. Go Cards!”
South Laurel jumped out to a 16-11 lead after the first quarter behind a barrage of 3-pointers.
Peyton Mabe set the tone with eight points, including a trey, while Callie Jones knocked down a 3-pointer and scored five points. Aubrey Bundy also connected from deep, finishing the frame with three points.
The Lady Cardinals maintained control and carried a 26-23 advantage into halftime as both Jones and Maci Messer scored five points apiece during the second quarter.
Rockcastle County stayed within striking distance, but South Laurel continued to dictate the pace, taking a 41-37 lead into the fourth quarter.
McKenzie Fannin delivered five points, including a 3-pointer, while Jones added four more in the period.
South Laurel sealed the deal with a dominant fourth quarter, outscoring the Lady Rockets, 16-6.
The Lady Cardinals were perfect from the stripe in the final frame (5-of-5) and finished 13-of-16 at the line overall.
Messer powered the closing stretch with seven points, and Bundy chipped in five.
Jones led all scorers with 16 points while going 5-of-5 from the free-throw line. Messer followed with 12 points, and both Bundy and Mabe reached double figures with 10 apiece. Fannin added five points, while Shelby Smith and Ryleigh Bretz finished with two points each.
