The North Pike Jaguars will take on the Laurel Golden Tornadoes at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
North Pike is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Gautier 54-7. The match was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Jaguars had established a 45 point advantage.
Kadence Thompson
| 02/14/25 vs Gautier | 3 |
| 02/07/25 vs Florence | 3 |
| 02/04/25 vs Natchez | 2 |
| 02/03/25 vs Provine | 2 |
North Pike's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Kadence Thompson, who posted 11 points in addition to five rebounds and three steals. Thompson has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last four times she's played. Another player making a difference was Kadence Jordan, who had ten points.
Meanwhile, Laurel waltzed into their contest on Friday with 24 straight wins... but they left with 25. They really took it to the Panthers for the full four quarters, racking up a 57-27 win. Given the Golden Tornadoes' advantage in MaxPreps' Mississippi basketball rankings (they are ranked 14th, while the Panthers are ranked 138th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Laurel's win came from a few key players North Pike will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Kayllis Walker, who went 6-for-15 on her way to 19 points and six boards. The team also got some help courtesy of Zy Evans, who put up 11 points and four steals.
Laurel smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in 35 consecutive games dating back to last season.
Laurel pushed their record up to 30-1 with the victory, which was their ninth straight at home. Those victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 25.0 points over those games. As for North Pike, they are on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 22-6 record this season.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: North Pike has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 29.5 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Laurel struggles in that department as they've been averaging 32 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
North Pike was taken down by Laurel 60-23 in their previous matchup back in February of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Walker, who almost dropped a double-double with 26 points and nine rebounds. Now that North Pike knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
