LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. — The first meeting between South Laurel and North Laurel needed an overtime to decide a winner.

Round two Monday night didn’t need the extra session, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t thrilling, as the Lady Cards completed the regular season sweep of the Lady Jaguars with a 58-46 win. South won the first meeting at North, 58-55.

Monday night’s game had a little bit of everything, including North Laurel coach Eddie Mahan being hit by two straight technical fouls with 49.8 seconds left in the game after arguing a call with one of the officials.

The play in question happened after a North Laurel player missed a shot and South’s Taylor Arthur went up over North’s Kayla Bruner for the rebound. A foul was called, but not on Arthur. It went against North’s Brooke Carpenter who tried to grab the ball from Arthur.

“She was over the back,” Mahan yelled as he was given his first technical. Seconds later, number two was called, and Mahan was ejected from the game.

At the time of the incident, South was up by eight, 48-40. By the time it all wrapped up, the lead had grown to 14, 54-40, with 45.5 seconds left.

Mahan said afterwards that while he was frustrated with the call, he was more frustrated with his team’s effort.

“Our effort was nowhere near what it was at Wayne County,” Mahan said, referring to his team’s 73-67 setback Friday night. “That’s what I was most frustrated about. We weren’t playing confident and that’s what bothers me more than anything.”

Both teams lost players early in the game. With just over two minutes gone in the first quarter, South’s Cassandra Johnson had to leave the game with an injured finger. She was taken to the hospital and would not return.

“They popped her finger back into place last night,” South coach Konnie Snyder said. “C.J. went to the doctor Tuesday morning and we won’t know the extent of her injury until she gets back.”

At the 4:39 mark of the second, North’s Megan Bryant, who had just come back  from an ankle injury, went down with an injury to her left knee.

“To lose a ball handler like Megan hurts,” Mahan said. “She was just coming off an ankle injury and we hope to have her back soon.”

In the end, it was free throws and experience that helped South Laurel take the win. The Lady Cards hit 70 percent from the line, hitting 23-of-33, many of those in the fourth quarter when North was forced to foul.

“I thought our experience, with Macy (Clontz), Taylor (Arthur) and C.J. was the difference,” Snyder said. “They’ve been there before, and that experience helped us play through C.J.’s injury.”

Clontz would finish with 23 points while Arthur tossed in 16. Sam Proffitt led North with 11 while Kayla Bruner added 10.

“Kayla did much better toward the end of the game,” Mahan said. “She’s the kind of player that could and should play like that.”

At the start of the game, the Lady Jaguars (5-18) game plan was to slow things down and be patient. It worked early with Proffitt getting two easy layups.

“We wanted to spread them out and make them come out,” Mahan said. “I thought man-to-man they couldn’t guard us. I also knew they were a good offensive team and we wanted to dictate what we were trying to do.”

North was up 6-4 before Clontz scored the last six South Laurel points to give her team a 10-6 lead after one. The Lady Cards hit 5-of-6 from the field in the first quarter, while North struggled, making just 2-of-12.

A three by Bailey Miller to open the second pushed the lead to 13-6. South stretched the lead to 20-10 with 1:46 left and were looking to blow the game open when the Lady Jaguars responded with an 8-0 run (including threes by Proffitt and Jessica Boggs) to cut the lead to two, 20-18. South ended the half with a jumper by Clontz for the 22-18 lead.

North continued its inspired play at the start of the third quarter. With South leading 26-20, North went on a 7-0 run, and when Bruner scored with 2:41 left, it gave the Lady Jaguars their first lead (27-26) since the 2:34 mark of the first quarter.

South (10-11) would respond with a 10-0 run to end the quarter and hold a 36-27 lead. Preslie Baker and Miller both drained threes during that run, and Snyder was pleased with their play.

“I thought Bailey shot the ball well and did a good job defensively,” Snyder said. “Preslie came in and also did a really good job.”

South would outscore North in the fourth, 22-19, with 20 of those points coming from the free throw line as the Lady Jaguars were forced to foul to try and stay in the game. South didn’t get its first shot on goal until the 4:42 mark, and its only basket was a layup by Clontz with 3:21 left. The Lady Cards were 20-of-25 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter.

“We weren’t getting a whole lot done offensively in the fourth quarter and North had to play really aggressive and we hit our free throws,” Snyder said. “It’s nice to get a win against your county rival. It means a lot to the community and the kids. It gives them bragging rights for another year.”

The Lady Cardinals will travel to Knox Central Thursday, while North Laurel will host McCreary Central. For South, the win was its fifth in a row, while North dropped its third straight. The Lady Jaguars have lost 10 out of their last 11 games.

Friday night’s games

Both teams were on the road last Friday night, with South Laurel beating Williamsburg, 55-41, while North dropped a tough game at Wayne County, 73-67.

The Lady Jaguars led the entire way against Wayne until the final minute when the Lady Cards were able to win it at the free throw line. Wayne County was 26-of-32 from the charity stripe in the game compared to North’s 1-of-1. The score was tied after three, 50-50, but Wayne hit 16-of-18 free throws in the fourth quarter.

Proffitt led the Lady Jaguars with 28 and Boggs added 18, all on threes.

South Laurel, behind 14 points from Johnson, beat Williamsburg, 55-41, to wrap-up the No. 3 seed in the district. Miller added 13 as she hit three threes, and Arthur chipped in with 11.



South Laurel 58, North Laurel 46

North Laurel    6  12    9  19—46

South Laurel  10  12  14  22—58

NORTH LAUREL (46)—Ellington 7, Boggs 6, Proffitt 11, Wyatt 6, Chestnut 2, Bruner 10.

SOUTH LAUREL (58)—Clontz 23, Arthur 16, Parker 4, Miller 10, Baker 5.



Friday’s games

South Laurel 55, Williamsburg 41

South Laurel     15  14  13  13—55

Williamsburg       9    7  11  14—41

SOUTH LAUREL (55)—Clontz 8, Arthur 11, Johnson 14, Parker 6, Miller 13, Baker 3.

WILLIAMSBURG (41)—Brown 1, Lawson 13, Ash 2, Davis 11, Conlin 12, Jackson 2.



Wayne County 73, North Laurel 67

North Laurel    21  13  16  17—67

Wayne County 19    9  22  23—73

NORTH LAUREL (67)—Ellington 4, Boggs 18, Proffitt 28, Wyatt 3, Bruner 14.

WAYNE COUNTY (73)—Bell 10, Roberts 2, Hardin 27, Rigney 2, Criswell 4, Pyles 3, Gillespie 6, Hicks 3, Sexton 16.

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