CORBIN — After 17 straight first-round exits from the 13th Region Tournament through 2023, the Knox Central Lady Panthers find themselves heading to the semifinals for the second straight year with a second straight tourney win over a Harlan County opponent.
Knox Central followed up a win over Harlan in last year’s first round with a 70-41 victory Monday over Harlan County in the opening game of this year’s tournament. The young Lady Bears stayed competitive for a half, trailing by 12 at the break, but couldn’t withstand a 19-3 run in the third quarter that blew the game open.
“We didn’t come out ready to go. Our offense was a little stale and our defense was back on its heels,” Knox Central coach Steve Warren said. “We just had to make some adjustments. Our guards are strong and we’re older. (HCHS coach) Gary (Greer) has a good group, but they are young. I felt we were settling the first hall. We went to the boards harder the second half.”
“They are just so much bigger and more physical than us,” Greer said. “We were trying to block out. We put forth the effort, but we gave up so much size and strength, and that’s going to happen right now.”
Standout sophomore guard Shelbie Mills, the daughter of the most famous Knox Central player in school history in 1990 Miss Basketball Kim Mays, put on a shooting exhibition not unlike what her mother did in leading the Lady Panthers to the semifinals three times. Mills hit 11 of 16 shots, including six of eight from the 3-point line, to lead the Lady Panthers with 28 points.
“She shoots it so well. She’s a guard but shoots 50-plus percent for the year,” Warren said. “She also doesn’t care to guard. She’s a sparkplug for us and played well tonight and got us going.”
Senior center Halle Collins, one of the region’s elite players for the past six years, added 14 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore guard McKenzie Hensley chipped in with 11 points.
The 9-23 Lady Bears were led by freshman guard Jaylee Cochran with 13 points.
Knox dominated the game with its strength in the paint, outrebounding HCHS 43-15, leading to 24 more shots.
With perhaps the 13th Region’s youngest roster, the Lady Bears were a surprise participant in the regional tournament after an upset win over Bell County in the district tournament. Greer said the experience of playing in the regional will help speed up the rebuilding process.
“I’m just so proud of them and proud to be their coach,” he said. “We had five high school kids on the varsity and the rest were middle school kids. We’ve improved leaps and bounds since July. We gave it all we had tonight. Knox has an outstanding team with a chance to win the whole thing. Once we get in the weight room and start doing some individual stuff and get older and stronger we hope to be in the same position as Knox is eventually. This was a stepping stone that a lot of people didn’t expect. I’m proud of them, but I’m not satisfied.”
Knox Central will play South Laurel in Friday’s semifinals. Corbin will take on Harlan on Tuesday at 6, and North Laurel plays Pineville at 7:30 in first-round games.