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HYDEN — An early 7-0 Harlan County lead disappeared as Owsley County scored 11 straight points to close the first quarter on Friday in the Hyden Citizens Bank Classic.

The Lady Bears regrouped during the break between quarters and returned with 10 straight points to reclaim control on the way to a 47-35 victory.

“I thought we looked really lethargic early after a three-day break and lost our first wind after about three minutes,” Harlan County coach Debbie Green said. “We kept grinding in the second quarter and hit some shots and got some rebounds to get ahead. We started getting better shots in the second quarter and played better defense. We beat a good team.”

The Lady Bears showed the best balance of the young season with four in double figures, led by junior guard Kelly Beth Hoskins with 14 points and senior forward Morgan Blakley added 13. Hannah Wood and Jaylin Smith contributed 10 each.

“I thought all our girls played well. Hannah and Morgan didn’t come out, so they had to work through being tired,” Green said. “Kelly Beth is also playing real well right now, defensively and offensively.”

Eighth-grade guard Carly Smith scored 15 points to lead the 5-4 Lady Owls, ranked fifth in the 14th Region’s preseason Cats Pause poll. Lexie Lynch added nine points and six rebounds.

Hoskins and Wood hit early 3-pointers to put HCHS up 7-0 before Owsley rallied behind two 3-pointers from Smith.

The Lady Bears settled for perimeter shots in the opening quarter but did a much better job of getting to the basket in the second as Blakley and Smith teamed for seven baskets to help Harlan County build a 26-17 lead at the break.

Another Hoskins 3 extended the HCHS lead to 12 early in the second half before Owsley battled back to within six on baskets by Lynch and Johnson. Hoskins put Harlan County back in control with two more 3-pointers for a 37-25 lead going into the final period.

Owsley closed to within six in the fourth quarter as the Lady Bears missed their first three shots. Blakley and Wood came through with buckets to start an 8-0 run that also included two baskets by Smith.

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Harlan County completed a two-game sweep on Friday with a 67-51 win over the host Lady Eagles, who came into the season ranked fourth in the 14th Region.

Hoskins scored 19 to lead the 5-3 Lady Bears. Owens tossed in 16 with eight rebounds. Blakley added 15 points and 14 rebounds.

Lexy Meyers, the region’s second-ranked player, carried the Leslie County (6-4) offense with 25 points.

Hoskins hit four 3-pointers in the opening period and five of six shots overall to lead the Lady Bears as they built a 20-15 lead. Owens three baskets for HCHS.

Myers carried the Leslie offense with all but one of the Lady Eagles’ six field goals in the quarter.

Blakley started to heat up in the second quarter with three straight baskets as the Harlan County lead grew to 12. Myers kept Leslie within striking distance, hitting a 3 to close the half that cut the deficit to 39-30.

The Lady Bears will play East Ridge on Saturday at 3:45 p.m.

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Harlan County 47, Owsley County 35

HARLAN COUNTY (4-3)

Hannah Wood 3-7 2-3 10, Kelly Beth Hoskins 5-10 0-0 14, Morgan Blakley 6-17 1-2 13, Jaylin Smith 5-7 0-2 10, Kassy Owens 0-2 0-2 0, Jaylin Preston 0-1 0-0 0, Dixie Ewing 0-3 0-0 0, Taylor Lunsford 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 19-47 3-9 47.

OWSLEY COUNTY (5-4)

Kenzie Herald 3-10 0-0 6, Carly Smith 6-13 0-0 15, Michaeh Johnson 1-3 0-0 2, Lexie Lynch 4-13 0-3 9, Kerissa Shouse 1-4 1-1 3, Shelby Murray 0-1 0-2 0, Aayliyah Lynch 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 15-44 1-6 35.

Harlan County 7 19 11 10 — 47

Owsley County 11 6 8 10 — 35

3-point goals: Harlan County 6-15 (Hoskins 4-8, Wood 2-5, Owens 0-1, Preston 0-1), Owsley County 4-15 (Smith 3-9, L, Lynch 1-6). Rebounds: Harlan County 35 (Blakey 12, Owens 6, Wood 5, Hoskins 5, Smith 4, Ewing 2, Preston 1), Owsley County 18 (L. Lynch 6, Smith 4, Johnson 3, Shouse 2, Herald 2, Murray 1). Turnovers: Harlan County 11, Owsley County 13. Fouled out: None.

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Harlan County 67, Leslie County 51

HARLAN COUNTY (5-3)

Hannah Wood 1-9 0-0 3, Kelly Beth Hoskins 7-14 0-0 19, Jaylin Smith 4-6 1-1 9, Morgan Blakley 8-17 1-2 15, Kassy Owens 7-13 2-3 16, Jaylin Preston 0-3 0-0 0, Dixie Ewing 2-4 1-4 5. Totals: 28-66 5-7 67.

LESLIE COUNTY (6-4)

Lexy Meyers 8-19 6-7 25, Iris Napier 2-7 1-1 6, Emily Bowling 3-12 0-0 6, Bailey Davidson 4-10 1-4 9, Emily Napier 1-2 0-0 2, Emma Napier 1-3 0-0 2, Macy Fee 0-2 2-5 2, Carolyn Buckle 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 19-55 10-19 51.

Harlan County 20 19 14 14 — 67

Leslie County 15 15 13 8 — 51

3-point goals: Harlan County 6-23 (Hoskins 5-12, Wood 1-8, Preston 0-3), Leslie County 3-19 (Meyers 3-13, Fee 0-1, Davison 0-2), Iris Napier 0-3). Rebounds: Harlan County 34 (Blakley 14, Owens 8, Wood 6, Ewing 3, Hoskins 2, Smith 1), Leslie County 29 (Davidson 6, Bowling 5, Emily Napier 5, Meyers 4, Emma Napier 4, Iris Napier 3, Fee 1, Buckle 1). Turnovers: Harlan County 15, Leslie County 17. Fouled out: None.