LOG MOUNTAIN — Struggling through one of the roughest starts in program history, the Harlan County Lady Bears hope they turned the corner this week in the Short-Redmond Holiday Classic at Bell County.
The Lady Bears pushed district favorite Bell County to the final seconds on Wednesday before falling by four, then rallied for a 49-41 victory Thursday over Lincoln County and closed tourney play Friday with a 68-23 rout of Lynn Camp. The Lady Bears scored the game’s first 24 points by forcing 14 turnovers in the opening quarter and coasted from there to a 68-23 victory.
“We talked before we came out that we needed to be aggressive and establish our defense at the beginning. We wanted to be able to force turnovers and finish at the same time. Our kids we aggressive when we came out and our other kids followed suit,” Harlan County coach Anthony Nolan said. “I see gradual growth. We have kids assuming their roles and playing with a little more confidence. If we can continue to progress that way, I think we’ll be very competitive by the end of the year. We’ve had exponential growth in this tournament.”
Senior guard Ella Karst once again led the HCHS offense with 29 points on 10-of-19 shooting. Faith Hoskins and Paige Phillips added nine and eight points, respectively, as the Lady Bears improved to 4-6 on the season.
Sophomore guard Lauren Partin led the 2-11 Lady Cats with 12 points.
Hoskins hit three 3-pointers in the opening quarter to ignite the Lady Bears’ early onslaught, earning most valuable player honors in the process. Karst had five baskets in the period as the lead grew to 29-3 by the end of the period.
Phillips, who hit all four of her shots in the first half, added two more baskets in the second quarter. Sophomore guard Whitney Noe provided a spark off the bench by hitting a pair of 3-pointers to help extend the lead to 48-10 at halftime.
Karst had all three HCHS baskets in the third quarter as Lynn Camp outscored the Lady Bears 10-8.
The Harlan County reserves outscored the Lady Cats 12-3 in the fourth quarter as Maddi Middleton, Jaylee Cochran, Kylee Runions and Jaycee Simpson each had baskets while Reagan Clem and Runions hit free throws.
Harlan County will return to action Wednesday in the Chain Rock Classic at Pineville.
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Led by 30 points from Karst, the Lady Bears rallied in the second half for a 49-41 win over Lincoln County on Thursday in the second round of the Short-Redmond Holiday Classic.
Phillips added 12 points for the Lady Bears.
Rice led Lincoln County (6-3) with 15 points.
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Harlan County (49) — Ella Karst 30, Paige Phillips 12, Faith Hoskins 2, Reagan Clem 2, Maddi Middleton 2, Cheyenne Rhymer 1.
Lincoln County (41) — Rice 15, Sims 13, Lewis 10, Greer 3.