The Pineville Lady Lions are one of the hottest teams in the 13th Region.
Pineville (5-0) registered a pair of big victories this week, downing Harlan County 49-45 on Friday and Clay County 83-44 on Tuesday in Manchester
The Lady Lions ran their win streak to five with a tight 49-45 victory over the Lady Bears.
Pineville was led again by their three-headed monster of Nadine Johnson with 20, Ava Arnett with 14, and Rachel Howard with 12.
Harlan County was led by senior guard Ella Karst’s 23 points. Whitley Teague added eight.
The game was a seesaw affair throughout with the Bears grabbing a 15-9 advantage early.
Pineville used a 16-4 second quarter to go ahead 25-19 at the half and outscored HC 16-10 in the third stanza to increase their advantage to 41-29. The Lady Bears fought back into the game in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Lions 16-8 to make the final 49-45.
The Lady Lions take their perfect record on the road over the holidays, playing in the Smoky Mountain Classic in Gatlinburg. Their first game pits the Lady Lions against St. Joseph Central (W.Va.) on Dec. 20 at 7 p.m.
Harlan County (2-5) begins play in the Redmond Auto Group Holiday Classic at Bell County on Dec. 20 against Bell County. The tip is scheduled for 1:30 pm.
———
In the Clay matchup, Pineville was led by Johnson’s 23 points. Arnett tallied 16. Junior guard Kamryn Biliter hit five threes for 15 points, and junior guard Malley Smith scored 13. Howard added nine points.
Clay County was led by Sidney Jones’ 22 points.
Pineville jumped out to a 24-14 lead after one and extended the lead to 41-30 at the half. The Lions outscored Clay 29-12 in the decisive third stanza to take a commanding 70-42 lead.
———
Pineville (49 — Nadine Johnson 20, Ava Arnett 14, Rachel Howard 12, Malley Smith 3.
Harlan County (45) — Paige Phillips 6, Faith Hoskins 3, Whitley Teague 8, Ella Karst 23, Reagan
Clem 2, Jaylee Cochran 3.
Harlan County 15 4 10 16 — 45
Pineville 9 16 16 8 — 49
———
Pineville (83) —Nadine Johnson 23, Ava Arnett 16, Rachel Howard 9, Malley Smith 13, Kamryn Biliter 15, Bayleigh Bargo 6, Makayla Caldwell 1.
Clay County (44) — Sidney Jones 22, Madison Poland 3, Faith Helton 9, Daisy Samples 2, Emma Jones 2, Anna Samples 5.
Piineville 24 17 29 13 — 83
Clay County 14 16 12 1 — 44
