Harlan County coach Anthony Nolan was worried how his team would react to playing back-to-back nights against district rivals.
As it turned out, he may want to try it more often.
The Lady Bears played their best game of the season Tuesday in a surprising 66-55 victory over Bell County. The win not only ended Harlan County’s 13-game losing streak against Bell, but it was the first loss against a district opponent for the Lady Cats since falling to Harlan County 71-50 on Feb. 21, 2019, in the 52nd District Tournament finals. Bell had won 33 straight district games over the past four and a half seasons.
“Give Harlan County a lot of credit, but we didn’t play at all tonight. They caused us a lot of trouble, but we’re not good enough to come out and go through the motions,” Bell County coach David Teague said. “I told the girls you can’t worry about what happened the last two games. We didn’t come ready to play. I knew at some point it (winning streak) would come to an end because you can’t win them all, but Harlan County did a good job and we weren’t very good at all.”
The most telling stat of the night was Harlan County’s 29-17 advantage on the boards against a Bell lineup featuring 6-4 sophomore Kairi Lamb and 6-1 senior Gracie Wilder. Bell dominated on the boards in two wins against HCHS earlier this season.
“That was such a factor the last time we played,” Harlan County coach Anthony Nolan said. “Lamb is so big. They have speed and size with Wilder. That had to be a focus tonight. I’m playing Paige (Phillips) out of position a lot, but she is doing a phenomenal job. I thought Faith (Hoskins) was more poised tonight than she was all season, and I can’t brag on Cheyenne (Rhymer) enough for what she is doing on the boards with nine rebounds each of the last two nights.”
“We stand around a lot, and we’re not very tough sometimes,” Teague said. “We wanted to stand around tonight on both ends of the floor, but give Harlan County credit because they wanted to win more than we did.”
Senior guard Ella Karst again led the Harlan County offense with 26 points, but may have played an even bigger role on defense against Wilder, who finished with 15 points and three rebounds. Karst, who stands around 5-4, has guarded Harlan’s Aymanni Wynn and Wilder, two of the region’s elite players, on consecutive nights.
“Ella is such a competitor and wants that matchup and challenge against the best players,” Nolan said. “That’s something you can’t teach. She has that competitive nature.”
Rhymer added 13 points and nine rebounds while Phillips contributed 12 points and six rebounds as HCHS improved to 11-9 overall and 3-1 in district action (a Christmas tournament game agains Bell does not count in district seeding).
Lamb led the 11-6 Bobcats with 21 points and nine rebounds. Lauren McGeorge and Wilder added 15 points each.
“I was a little bit worried about our legs playing district rivals back to back, but I think the kids are learning their roles better,” Nolan said. “It was a grind to start the season with so many new faces and kids we threw to the wolves, both in varsity and JV. I’m proud of the effort tonight, and we just have to come back with that intensity Friday (at Middlesboro). They were coachable all night, and the kids on the bench were completely involved in the game. I’m glad to see the kids get the confidence to play on that level.”
The Lady Bears led 13-12 after a first quarter that saw several lead changes. Harlan County led by two when Hoskins, Reagan Clem and Rhymer ignited a 19-4 run to close the first half. Karst had two baskets and Phillips added one to close the half with HCHS up 39-22.
Bell hit only two of 10 shots in the third period as the Lady Bears built a 57-35 lead going into the fourth quarter. Karst had four baskets in the quarter while Rhymer and Philips added two each.
Harlan County still led by 22 when Bell reeled off 12 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to 59-48 with four minutes left. The Lady Bears had only basket in the period but connected on seven of 10 free throws in the final 2:57.
The Lady Bears to Middlesboro on Friday for a girls/boys district doubleheader. Bell County plays Southwestern on Saturday in the Rocket Classic at Rockcastle County High School.