A little confidence made a big difference for the Harlan County Lady Bears on Monday against visiting Barbourville.
Unable to hit shots in consecutive losses to Clay County, Middlesboro and Harlan, the Lady Bears had the look of a team that didn’t expect anything good to happen. Once the shots started to fall Monday, the Lady Bears looked like a different team as they hit 11 of 22 from beyond the 3-point line on the way to a 72-46 victory.
“When kids start hitting shots, everything goes better. Their body language changes. They got down in their defensive stances and get in the passing lanes,” Harlan County coach Gary Greer said. “We definitely needed a game like this.”
Freshman guard Kylee Runions hit 12 of 16 shots, including four 3-pointers, in a 28-point effort to lead the 8-19 Lady Bears. Freshman guard Jaylee Cochran hit seven of 14 shots, including three 3s, and scored 17. Jaycee Simpson added 10 points.
Marleigh Martin, a freshman guard, led the 8-19 Lady Tigers with 12 points, Sadie Hoffman came off the bench to add 10 points.
Cochran carried the HC offense early with three baskets in the first quarter as the Lady Bears built a 19-8 lead.
Reagan Clem and Runions each hit a pair of 3s in the second period as Harlan County took control, pushing its advantage to 40-15 by halftime.
The Harlan County defense lost a step in the third quarter as both offenses thrived with the Lady Bears outscoring Barbourville 20-19. Runions hit five of eight shots in the period, including a 30-footer from the volleyball line to close the quarter and push the HCHS lead to 60-34.
“We played really good defensively the first half. We slacked off a little the second half, but that is natural for kids when they get a lead,” Greer said. “We can’t afford to do that though if we’re going to make a run next week.”
Harlan County travels to Letcher Central on Tuesday and North Laurel on Friday to close the regular season. Barbourville closes its regular season schedule Friday at Breathitt County.
———
Led by 14 points from eighth-grade center Raegan Landa, Harlan County improved to 9-2 in junior varsity action with a 34-26 win. Vanessa Griffith added six points. Taylynn Napier and Jaylen Dillman each scored five. Brooke Haywood and Kenadee Sturgill added two each.
Sadie Hoffman led Barbourville with 13 points. Marleigh Martin and Bre Engle each scored four. Olivia Brown and Macy Hoskins added three and two points, respectively.