North Laurel’s speed may have been one of the main problems for Pineville during the meeting between the two teams on Monday. With the Lady Jaguars putting five guards on the floor, it was tough for the Lady Lions to match-up well against them.

Transition basket near the end of the third and well into the fourth quarter proved to be the difference as North Laurel turned a three-point halftime lead into a 66-50 victory.

“(North Laurel) pretty much played five guards, so it’s kind of hard to match-up with them. They shot their threes well, and that’s what is tough when they’re playing that type of offense,” said Pineville coach Jamie Mills. “We got a little tired and didn’t close out, and they hit some threes on us.”

Despite the loss, Jill Enix and Makenzie Fuson put together good games for the Lady Lions. Enix ended the night with a team-high 21 points and registered a double-double after hauling in 21 rebounds.

Fuson scored 18 points with nine crucial points coming in the first quarter that helped Pineville stay in the game early. She also brought down three rebounds.

Whitney Caldwell led the team with three assists, while Sarah Combs grabbed a team-high two steals during the game.

“They all played well. I was pleased with our effort. They just kind of wore us down there at the end,” said Mills. “We’re pleased with everything they did.”

Hannah Lawson was the catalyst for North Laurel scoring a game-high 22 points off six field goals. She also went a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. Isabel Gray scored 13 points off five field goals, and Madison Sheppard ended the night with 11 points.

North Laurel grabbed a 10-3 lead off a Lawson 3-pointer midway through the first quarter. Baskets by Fuson and Enix narrowed the deficit to three before consecutive 3-pointers by Gray and Sheppard increased the lead to 16-9.

Lawson capped the eight-point run with a layup that increased the lead to 11. Fuson hit two sets of free throws around a 3-pointer by Lawson to cut the lead to 21-11 with 1:44 remaining in the first.

With only seconds remaining, Combs grabbed a steal and hit Fuson on a fast break to narrow the lead back to single digits, 21-13. A free throw from Sizemore brought the lead to nine, but a Caldwell jumper moments before the buzzer narrowed the Lady Jags’ lead to 22-15 after one.

The Lady Lions held North Laurel to six points in the second quarter while tallying 10 points of their own. Pineville opened the second with back-to-back baskets from Raigan King and Enix to cut the lead to 22-19 with 5:36 remaining in the half.

A Sheppard layup and a 3-pointer by Jasey Williams helped increase the lead to 27-21 midway through the quarter.

A layup and a free throw from Enix narrowed the deficit to three, 27-24, with 1:35 remaining.

After a free throw from Sizemore, Enix ended the half hitting one of her two free throw attempts with 1.3 seconds left to cut the lead to 28-25.

The Lady Jags started to pull away in the third quarter. A 7-0 run near the end of the third allowed North Laurel to pull away to a 44-32 lead with just over a minute to play in the frame. An Enix layup cut the deficit back to 10 at the end of the third, 44-34.

The Lady Jags outscored Pineville 22-16 in the fourth quarter to claim a 16-point victory over the Lady Lions.

Up Next

Pineville (16-7) will travel to Middlesboro (8-12) at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

North Laurel (20-6) will travel to Knox Central (9-9) on Saturday.

———

North Laurel 66, Pineville 50

NORTH LAUREL (20-6)

Madison Sheppard 5 0-0 11, Isabel Gray 5 0-0 13, Courtney Carroll 2 1-1 5, Hannah Lawson 6 6-6 22, Gracie Jervis 2 3-4 8, Emily Sizemore 1 2-4 4, Jasey Williams 1 0-0 3. Totals: 22, 12-15 66.

PINEVILLE (16-7)

Sarah Combs 0 0-0 0, Jill Enix 9 2-5 21, Raigan King 2 0-2 4, Makenzie Fuson 5 8-11 18, Whitney Caldwell 1 0-0 2, Madison Ford 1 3-4 5. Totals: 18 13-22 50.

North Laurel 22 6 16 22 — 66

Pineville 15 10 9 16 — 50

3-point goals: North Laurel 10 (Lawson 4, Gray 3, Sheppard 1, Williams 1, Jervis 1), Pineville 1 (Enix 1).

Reach Anthony Cloud at 606-302-9090 or on Twitter @AnthonyCloudMDN