CORBIN — South Laurel wasted no time setting the tone Monday night.
Behind a balanced scoring attack and stifling defense, the Lady Cardinals opened the 13th Region Girls’ Basketball Tournament with a commanding 69-29 victory over Clay County in first-round action at The Arena.
With the win, South Laurel improves to 25-6 on the season while Clay County closes its campaign at 16-17.
“Great way to start off the 13th region tournament,” South Laurel coach Tod Windlan said. “Kids came out and applied great defensive pressure and rotations were very good. Thought Ryleigh Bretz was great on the offensive boards and team out rebounded them 20-10 in first half. Callie Jones had seven and Aubrey Bundy and Skeeter Mabe had six at the half.
“The third quarter we came out with great effort and intensity outscoring Clay 25-5 to put the game away,” he added. “We out rebounded them 36-15 and that was a point of emphasis going into the game! We only committed six turnovers while forcing 21. Coach Jones’ scouting reporting was spot on which helped us get the win. We were led in scoring by McKenzie Fannin 17, Maci Messer 14, Callie Jones 10, Aubrey Bundy nine, Shelby Smith seven and Skeeter Mabe six. Lady Cards play Friday night at 6 p.m. Go Cards.”
The Lady Cardinals jumped out early, building an 18-9 lead after the first quarter and never looked back.
South Laurel matched that 18-point output again in the second period to take a 36-20 advantage into halftime.
Any hopes of a Clay County rally were erased in the third quarter.
South Laurel delivered its most dominant stretch of the night, outscoring the Lady Tigers 25-5 in the period to push the margin to 61-25 entering the fourth.
The Lady Cardinals’ defensive pressure forced turnovers and limited Clay County to just five points in the frame.
McKenzie Fannin led the way for South Laurel with 17 points while Maci Messer added 14 points. Callie Jones chipped in 10 points and Aubrey Bundy contributed nine points.
South Laurel finished 26-of-64 from the field and knocked down seven three-pointers. The Lady Cardinals also controlled the glass, outrebounding Clay County, 36-15.
Clay County was led by Harper Rice with 13 points. Carly Fultz added seven for the Lady Tigers, who were held to just 13 made field goals and shot 39 percent for the game.
