With a playoff win on the line, Laurel rose to the challenge on Friday. They blew past the North Pike Jaguars 54-31. The Golden Tornadoes have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 23 matchups by 20 points or more this season.
Laurel's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Gracelyn Carmichael led the charge by going 8-for-10 to rack up 21 points along with five steals and three blocks. Carmichael has been hot, having posted two or more steals the last six times she's played. Another player making a difference was Karly Hunter, who went 6-for-8 en route to 14 points and seven rebounds.
North Pike lost despite a true team effort on offense. The best among them was Kadence Thompson, who posted seven points. The team also got some help courtesy of De'Asia Hudson, who scored nine points.
Golden Tornadoes
| 02/21/25 vs North Pike | 54-31 |
| 02/14/25 vs Brookhaven | 57-27 |
| 02/07/25 vs Wayne County | 76-28 |
| 02/06/25 vs East Central | 70-18 |
| 01/30/25 @ Stone | 61-20 |
| + 21 more games |
The win (which was Laurel's 26th in a row) raised their record to 31-1. The wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 27.3 points over those games. As for North Pike, their defeat dropped their record down to 22-7.
Looking ahead, Laurel will challenge Canton at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Laurel's defense has only allowed 29.6 points per game this season, so Canton's offense will have their work cut out for them. North Pike does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
