BARBOURVILLE — Lacking size, strength and experience, the Harlan County Lady Bears have almost no chance this season without bringing an extra dose of intensity every night.
The Lady Bears slumbered through much of the first half Saturday at Barbourville and trailed by seven at the break. They found the energy they needed for the second half and turned the game with their defense, forcing 16 turnovers and limiting the Lady Tigers to 15 points to rally for a 54-43 victory.
“We did a lot better job rotating the second half. That was the biggest problem the first half,” Harlan County coach Gary Greer said, “They got in the right spots the second half. We have to guard. The last few weeks we haven’t done a good job stopping the ball. The second half we had more energy. We have to play that way. We’re giving up a lot of size and strength, but we’re not making excuses. Playing hard has nothing to do with size or strength.”
Eighth-grade guard Reagan Clem hit four of five 3-pointers and finished with 20 points to lead the 6-15 Lady Bears, who hav won consecutive games for the first time this season. Jaycee Simpson and Jaylee Cochran added 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Freshman guard Marleigh Martin led the 7-15 Lady Tigers with 15 points.
Kylee Runions and Clem hit early 3s as Harlan County started hot, but Runions picked up two quick fouls and sat out most of the first half. Barbourville fought back to take a 13-11 lead after one quarter by hitting four of six shots.
Martin hit two 3s in the second quarter as the Lady Tigers extended their advantage to 28-21 at halftime as HCHS missed 10 of 12 shots in a sluggish second quarter.
The Lady Bears hit only three of 15 shots in the third quarter but turned the game with their defense, forcing 10 turnovers in the period. Cochran hit two 3s and Clem added one as Harlan County took a 36-35 lead.
Baskets by Simpson, Taylynn Napier and Lacey Robinson followed by three free throws from Clem put Harlan County in control midway through the final quarter. The Lady Bears went to their spread offense at that point and put the game away as Robinson, Simpson and Cochran each hit two clutch free throws in the final 77 seconds after HC struggled at the line much of the night. Harlan County hit 23 of 40 at the line for the game.
“We’ve got to do a better job shooting free throws, but we’ll get back to work on Monday and correct some more things and hope to have a good showing Tuesday,” Greer said.
Harlan County will play host to Bell County on Tuesday in a girls/boys district doubleheader.
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The Harlan County junior varsity team improved to 8-2 on the season with a 31-15 victory,.
Raegan Landa led the Lady Bears with eight points. Taylynn Napier scored six, followed by Vanessa Griffith with five, Brooke Haywood with four, Kenadee Sturgill and Kelsie Middleton with three each and Khloe Carr with two.
Sadie Hoffman led Barbourville with six points. Olivia Brown added three. Macy Hoskins, K.K. Mills and Marleigh Martin chipped in with two each.

