North Laurel responded like good teams do from a loss.
The Lady Jaguars were coming off a one-point setback to Corbin in the finals of the WYMT Mountain Classic, and proceeded to pick up a dominating, 67-32, victory over Whitley County on Tuesday.
Coach Eddie Mahan was able to play his entire roster during the 35-point win, and saw a lot of good things out of his team, and some things his Lady Jaguars (3-2) need to work on.
Anytime you can beat a region opponent it’s a good thing. We have some things we need to still improve on that we tried to focus in on for this game and I believe it got us out of our normal flow.
“It was a good game to be able to play our entire team and work on our bench play,” he said. “I think Gracie McKnight has really been giving us some great minutes. After starting almost half of our games last year she is starting to adjust to being that sixth man and bringing energy off the bench. She is a huge part of our success.
“Emily Sizemore had an another good performance in just a little over two quarters of playing time she had 22 points, eight rebounds shooting 70 percent from the field,” he added. “I seen improvement from our girls tonight and we will need to keep that going with the schedule we have. Next up we have another big challenge in Pikeville.”
Emily Sizemore’s 22 points led the way for the Lady Jaguars while Brooke Nichelson followed with a 15-point scoring effort. Gracie and Chloe McKnight each scored nine points apiece.
Michaela Barton led Whitley County (2-4) with eight points. The Lady Colonels will host Lincoln County at home on Friday at 8 p.m.
“They are a very good team,” Whitley County coach Sean Pigman said. “Emily and Brooke were both very good tonight. We could not hit shots early and dug a hole which is too much against a team like them. We kept battling for four quarters.
“Michaela came in and led us scoring and Amber knocked hit some threes as well,” he added. “Eddie does a great job and I think they are going to be a tough team for anyone to beat as the season goes along. We will get back to work and get ready for Lincoln County on Friday. These type of games against very good teams help us grow if we can respond in right way.”
The Lady Jaguars will host Pikeville Friday at 7:30 p.m.
