Winners in five of their last six games, the Harlan County Lady Bears appear to be shaking off their early-season growing pains. They put together their best performance of the season on Thursday in a surprisingly convincing 70-52 win over visiting Hazard.
“I thought our execution over the course of the game, other than two or three minutes in the third quarter, was as good as I’ve seen this year. We stayed focused a little longer. The main thing is we’re seeing kids grow in their roles,” Harlan County coach Anthony Nolan said,. “We will still continue to progress.”
Hazard, which fell to 8-8 on the season, is ranked among the 14th Region’s top teams and owns a win over Bell County this season. The Lady Dogs hit only four of nine shots in the opening quarter and fell behind 20-9. They spent the rest of the night trying to catch up.
“We came out struggling early on, and we had some good looks around the rim. That’s who we are, and we just missed them. That kind of changed the tone of the game,” Hazard coach Todd Howard said.
Senior guard Ella Karst carried the Harlan County offense, much as she has for most of her high school career, with a 43-point explosion.
“Ella was consistently moving the ball and waiting for the defense to break down. The other kids were moving and playing better,” Nolan said. “I thought we were consistent defensively tonight, and they did what I asked them to do.”
“She will get hers, and our game plan was hope she passed to someone else and maybe they’re not hitting. She’s a heck of a player,” Howard said. “The (Reagan) Clem girl hit some shots and some others. Sometimes you pick your poison, but tonight Karst was a handful.”
The 7-7 Lady Bears also got a big lift from seventh grade guard Reagan Clem with 10 points and sophomore Whitney Rhymer with seven points.
“That’s a big jump from seventh grade, but she is playing a big role for us,” Nolan said. “Cheyenne was also more consistent tonight. I’m very proud of her. She had been playing timid, but tonight she played more loose like she does in practice. Reagan and Chey both knocked down some big shots.”
Harlan County owned a 29-18 advantage on the boards, leading to several scores on second shots. Faith Hoskins and Karst each had seven rebounds and Paige Phillips added six,
“Faith’s (Hoskins) rebounding helped us immensely, She has really improved, and that gives us possessions. I thought Paige (Phillips) did a nice job on the boards also,” Nolan said.
Karst had four baskets in the opening period to help HC get off to a strong start, then Hoskins closed the period with a 3 for an 11-point lead.
Harlan County hit only four of 12 shots in the second quarter as Hazard closed to within five before Clem stopped the run with a trey, then Karst reeled off seven quick points with the aid of a technical on the Lady Dogs for not having a player on the book. A steal and basket by Karst to close the half extended the Lady Bears’ lead to 34-19 at the break.
Baskets by Karst and Rhymer pushed the advantage to 44-23 with five minutes to play in the third quarter. Hazard responded with its best run of the game, a 12-2 spurt on seventh-of-nine shooting to pull within 11. Clem and Karst answered the call again with six straight points to make the score 52-35 going into the fourth period.
Karst took over in the final quarter, slicing through the Hazard defense to either score or draw fouls. Rhymer and Clem also had two baskets each as Harlan County outscored the Lady Dogs 18-17 despite a strong effort from eighth grader Maddi Frohnapfel, who led the Lady Dogs with 17 points. Laura Everidge and Heidi Bentley added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Harlan County travels to South Laurel on Friday. Hazard plays host to Jenkins on Wednesday in the 14th Region All “A” Classic.
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Whitney Noe and Kylee Runions hit one free throw each in the final minute as Harlan County held off a late Hazard comeback attempt to win 36-34 in junior varsity action.
Jaylee Cochran scored 10 points to lead the 5-0 Lady Bears., Reagan Clem, Lacey Robinson and Runions scored six each. Jaycee Simpson added five. Whitney Noe chipped in with three.
Kailey Pennington led Hazard with 20 points. Braylynn Eddington scored six. Maggie Combs added five. Carlee Davidson contributed three.

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Harlan County was no match for South London on Friday in London as the Lady Cardinals coasted to a 68-34 victory.
Maci Messer scored 20 to lead the 10-6 Lady Cards. Shelbie Mills and Peyton Mabe added 15 and 14 points, respectively.
Ella Karst led the 7-8 Lady Bears with 28 points.
Harlan County plays at Bell County on Tuesday.
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South Laurel (68) — Maci Messer 20, Shelbie Mills 15, Peyton Mabe 14, Jamie Buenaventura 6, Callie Jones 3, Kylie Smith 3, Emma Adams 3, Aubrey Bundy 2, Sydney Blanton 2.
Harlan County (34) — Ella Karst 28, Reagan Clem 2, Cheyenne Rhymer 2, Whitney Noe 1, Paige Phillips 1.