HYDEN — With the 52nd District Tournament opening Monday, Harlan County coach Gary Greer took his team on the road to Leslie County to face one of the 14th Region’s top teams.
The Lady Bears held Leslie County to only 35 percent (18 of 52) shooting, including only two of 18 from the 3-point line, but HC also struggled on offense after racing to a 7-0 lead and had trouble against the physical play of an all-senior Leslie lineup in a 56-43 loss. Harlan County won by nine in an earlier meeting between the two at home.
“We knew Leslie County had a good team,” Greer said. “At times we looked pretty good and at times we struggled. I was proud of my kids though. We were in major foul trouble the entire game. It’s hard to get into a rhythm when the whistle is being blowed on one end the whole time. I’m not making excuses. It’s good for us to come over here and play a good team to get us ready for next week.”
Senior forward Lexi Wilson was especially effective getting the basket as she led the 21-7 Lady Eagles with 17 points. Senior guard Taylor Couch added 12 points.
Freshman guard Jaycee Simpson scored 15 points and sophomore guard Jaylee Cochran added 10 for the 13-13 Lady Bears, who have focused more on getting to the basket and less on 3-pointers over the past month.
“We’re doing a better job of attacking and getting paint touches. The last three weeks or so we’ve done a pretty good job of not settling and getting to the free throw line,” Greer said. “Tonight we could have shot several more free throws, but the whistles didn’t go our way.”
Wilson had all four of Leslie’s baskets in the first quarter as the Lady Eagles fought back to within two, at 14-12, by the end of the period. Whitney Noe led HC with two 3-pointers.
Led by two baskets by Couch, Leslie rallied to take a 29-25 lead by halftime as the Lady Bears hit only four of 12 shots, led by two from Simpson.
The Lady Bears hit only seven of 30 shots in the second half, scoring nine points in each period, as Leslie slowly pulled away.
Harlan County will play Middlesboro on Monday at 7:30 in the first round of the 52nd District Tournament at Bell County