Darrell Hendrix had an idea what would be coming before his Lynn Camp Lady Cats stepped on the floor at Harlan County on Saturday afternoon.
Twelve turnovers and 19 unanswered HCHS points in the first five minutes proved he was correct, but by then the game was all but over. The Lady Bears had a running clock late in the first half and coasted to a 66-19 victory. Lynn Camp (2-4) was limited to single digits in three of four quarters, including a scoreless final period, and shot only 19 percent (five of 27) from the field.
“We were not ready to go. To be honest, they played more aggressive defense than we’ve seen this year and we did not react,” Lynn Camp coach Darrell Hendrix said. “I knew they were a good team. He (coach Anthony Nolan) does a good job and they whooped us pretty good last year. We tried to prepare them for it, but we came out and weren’t ready for the pressure they put on us.”
Sophomore guard Ella Karst sparked the decisive early run with four baskets in the 19-0 spurt to start the game. Kylie Jones, Taytum Griffin and Jaylin Preston added 3-pointers as HCHS built a 26-4 lead with the help of 12 turnovers.
Karst scored 17 and Jaylin Smith added 10 to lead the Lady Bears.
“I thought we came out and picked up where we left off. We were able to establish some momentum early. We were aggressive and hit some shots and put them on their heels a little,” Nolan said. “Ella has been real consistent and helped get us going on offense. We switched defenses and caused them some problems. I didn’t mean to get a running clock that early, but it got away from me a little bit. We really focused on getting out in the passing lanes coming into this game.
“Our younger girls got some minutes. They have been practicing well and earned an opportunity to play. We got contributions from several people. Things we see in practice are translating over to games.”
The lead grew to 44-9 by halftime even though Harlan County hit only six of 21 shots in the second quarter.
Griffin had two baskets in the third period as the Lady Bears outscored Lynn Camp 12-10. HCHS posted a 10-0 shutout in the fourth period as Cheyenne Rhymer had two baskets and Abbi Fields and Preston added one each. Maddi Middleton and Brianna Howard contributed three rebounds each.
Alyssa Crumpler led the 2-4 Lady Cats with eight points.
Harlan County plays host to Leslie County on Monday at 6 p.m.
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Led by 10 points from eighth-grade guard Cheyenne Rhymer, Harlan County earned its first junior varsity win with a 28-21 victory.
Lacy Robinson added four. Whitney Noe and Hailee Hensley scored three each. Peyton Lunsford, Savannah Hill, Maddi Middleton and Brianna Howard tossed in two each.