Trailing at the end of each of the first three quarters, the young Whitley County Lady Colonels saved their best basketball for last on Tuesday night at Harlan County High School.
With a starting lineup featuring three freshmen, the Lady Colonels executed almost to perfection down the stretch. Whitley hit six of eight shots in the fourth quarter and held the Lady Bears to only one basket on 12 shots in pulling away for a 52-42 victory.
“When it came finishing time the last five minutes or so, I thought we were pretty good,” Whitley County coach Sean Pigman said. “We made good decisions and didn’t force shots. We got to the free throw line. I also thought we won the rebounding war at the end. (Ella) Karst is too good to give them extra shots.”
Madisyn Hopkins, a 6-foot freshman, scored 27 points to lead the 2-0 Lady Colonels. Aubree Clemons, a 6-3 freshman center, added 16 points.
Karst, a senior guard, was the only consistent offensive threat once again for the 0-4 Lady Bears as she scored 18 points despite being the focus of Whitley’s box-and-chaser for much of the night.
Harlan County struggled again with unforced errors, mental mistakes and rushed shots, part of the Lady Bears’ early-season habit of “playing scared.”
“We had good looks, but they just didn’t go down. We missed a lot of easy shots early and made some simple plays look difficult,” Nolan said. “The game is pretty simple. You have to be able to dribble, you have to be able to shoot and you have to give effort. If we had those three things we’d be able to compete, but we’re struggling to find the kids who can do that the best. We’ll keep searching until we find the right combination. I see some kids stepping into that role, but we have a lot of growing up to do.”
Both teams struggled offensively early as Whitley hit two of 10 shots and Harlan County connected on four of 17. The Lady Bears struggled to attack Whitley’s chaser defense but the Lady Colonels had a hard time taking care of the ball with six turnovers. Karst had three baskets in the period as HCHS went up 9-6.
Harlan County’s lead grew to eight in the second quarter on baskets by Reagan Clem, Karst and Whitley Teague, but Whitley fought back to within three, at 24-21, as Hopkins hit her last three shots of the half.
After a couple of lead changes, Harlan County took a 37-35 lead into the final period on a Clem 3. Paige Phillips and Teague each had two baskets in the quarter as the Lady Bears had some success against Whitley inside before going ice cold in the final period.
Hopkins dominated the fourth quarter by hitting four of six shots. Clemons added six points and four rebounds.
The Lady Bears return to action Friday at home against Barbourville. Whitley County plays host to McCreary Central on Friday.
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Harlan County improved to 4-0 in junior varsity action with another impressive performance several middle school standouts, including 11 points from Reagan Clem and nine from Jaylee Cochran. Kylee Runions and Jaycee Simpson added eight and seven points, respectively. Whitney Noe scored four, while Allie Stewart added two.
Freshman forward Jaylee Cox led Whitley County with 11 points. Lydia Hale, an eighth grader, scored eight. Cambree Price scored five, followed by Isabella Smiddy with four and Payton Hurst with two.