HARLAN — Fresh off its WYMT Mountain Classic championship, North Laurel showed no signs of a letdown Tuesday night, cruising to a 73-43 road victory over Harlan County.
The win pushed the Lady Jaguars to 5-1 overall and extended their winning streak to five games, while the Lady Black Bears slipped to 1-4.
“It’s always good to pick up a win against a region opponent,” North Laurel coach Eddie Mahan said. “Harlan County is a young but very talented team that can really shoot the basketball, and they made us pay anytime we left them open tonight. We’re playing with a lot of pressure and mixing multiple defenses in both the full and half court, but our rotations were slow at times and that led to too many open looks. That’s something we’ll need to clean up moving forward. One positive was that our pace and pressure wore on them as the game went on, and we were able to take control late.
“Mariella Claybrook continued her strong play with another double-double, finishing with 23 points and 10 rebounds,” he added. “Haley Combs gave us a steady senior performance, and our guard depth showed again with strong contributions from Bella Lewis, Bella Mahan, and Laylee Phillips.”
North Laurel set the tone early, jumping out to a 19-8 lead at the end of the first quarter. Mariella Claybrook scored five points in the opening period while Kaylee Phillips and Bella Lewis each added four. Bella Mahan knocked down a 3-pointer as the Lady Jaguars controlled the tempo from the start.
Phillips continued her strong effort in the second quarter, scoring eight more points to help North Laurel take a 31-19 lead into halftime.
Harlan County showed some life in the third quarter, connecting on five 3-pointers, including two from Reagan Clem.
Despite the surge, North Laurel maintained control, building a 51-36 advantage heading into the fourth quarter. Claybrook scored 10 points in the period, Lewis added four points and a 3-pointer, and Haley Combs chipped in four points while also knocking down a 3.
The Lady Jaguars pulled away in the fourth quarter. Mahan drilled two more 3-pointers, Lewis scored five points and hit another 3, and Claybrook added six points as North Laurel cruised to the convincing win.
Claybrook led North Laurel with 23 points while Lewis had 15 points, and Phillips scored 14. Mahan and both scored nine points apiece.
Jaycee Simpson led Harlan County with 13 points while Kyler Runions hit three 3-pointers and finished with nine points. Clem scored eight points.
