In a game of runs, Knox Central had the last one to hold off Harlan County and advance to the finals of the 2A Section 7 Tournament with a 56-45 victory.
With Knox Central up by four early in the second quarter, the Lady Bears reeled off 11 straight points to go ahead 21-14. After two timeouts by coach Steve Warren, the Lady Panthers closed the half with a 13-0 surge to go up by five at halftime.
“We went on a little run right there, but then they came back again. It seemed like we were in mud all night, but Harlan County has improved and coach (Gary) Greer does a great job with them. We came out flat tonight after a big win Saturday (over Corbin) and let them get some confidence. We were able to get some runs when we needed them.”
Knox led by eight early in the third quarter when Taylynn Napier sparked a 16-6 surge t put the HCHS up by two. Knox closed the period with six straight points to to lead by four. Harlan County closed to within one with 5:17 left when Napier hit two free throws, but Shelbie Mills sparked an 11-0 run with two straight 3-pointers to send the Lady Panthers to the win.
“We got after them on defense those last four minutes,” Warren said. “We challenged them and they responded. (Napier) was hurting us, but then they missed a few shots and we got some rebounds and made some shots.”
Freshman center Kaylynn Smith scored 18 points and Mills added 14 to lead the 10-3 Lady Panthers.
“Smith is big for us down low. She gets her hands on a lot of balls,” Warren said. “Shelbie hit some big shots for us also.”
Jaycee Simpson and Napier led the 6-6 Lady Bears with 15 points each. Reagan Clem added 11 points.
“When we ran our stuff correctly and got in the right spots, we did pretty well. We got in stretches where we didn’t go where we were supposed to go,” Harlan County coach Gary Greer said. “He had every opportunity in the world. We just couldn’t come up with a key stop or rebound, and it ended up being a three-point play or 3-pointer for them. Knox is a very good team with two of the top players in the region and coach Warren does an excellent job. I’m proud of how my kids fought. Both teams made several runs. We’ll get to work and see what we can do Thursday.”
Harlan County will play Whitley County at 6 p.m. on Thursday in the third-place game. Knox Central will play Bell County for the Section 7 title at 8 p.m.
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Knox Central (56) — Shelbie Mills 14, Mackenzie Hensley 4, Kaylynn Smith 18, Kylie Smith 7, Shelbi Smith 3, Kaylee Gambrel Garrison 2, Charis Frederick 8.
Harlan County (45) — Jaycee Simpson 15, Reagan Clem 11, Jaylee Cochran 2, Whitney Noe 2, Lacey Robinson 0, Taylynn Napier 15.
Harlan County 10 11 16 8 — 45
Knox Central 13 14 14 15 — 56
