Lady Bears lose hard-fought game
Published 10:15 am Sunday, March 7, 2021
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By Paul Lunsford
Falling behind 14-0 is never a good start to a basketball game.
Although the Harlan County Lady Bears fought back on Saturday at home, the first quarter troubles, along with third-quarter woes, allowed Knox Central to escape with a 56-55 victory.
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The Lady Panthers outscored HC 14-4 in the opening period and 16-9 in the third quarter.
“Had we not came out of the gate flat, the outcome is different,” said Harlan County coach Anthony Nolan. “I thought we were engaged after we went to the bench. I thought that group came in and done a good job, giving us a start. I think that changed the momentum.”
Senior guard Presley Partin powered Knox Central (11-5) with 24 points and eight rebounds.
Harlan County, playing its second game without junior Jaylin Smith, was led in scoring by freshman guard Ella Karst with a career-high 31 points, including six of eight 3-pointers. Eighth-grade guard Kylie Jones came off the bench and tossed in 10 points.
“Ella has a wonderful talent. She’s even a better kid,” said Nolan. “We need for her to be more of a vocal leader, but with her youth she might be waiting that out a little bit. She’s a joy to be around and coach.”
Zoey Liford scored seven points and Partin added six as Knox Central led by 10 after eight minutes. The Lady Bears missed 13 of 14 shots from the field in the quarter and had seven turnovers.
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Harlan County came storming back in the second period, scoring 24 points.
Karst hit a pair of 3-pointers as HC pulled within six at the 6:39 mark. Two treys by Jacey Lewis and a jumper by Jones tied the score at 20-20 with 2:38 remaining in the first half.
A 3-pointer by Jones at the 1:52 mark, gave the Lady Bears a 23-22 edge. A three-point play by Partin with 3.3 seconds remaining, gave Knox Central a 30-28 advantage at halftime.
Harlan County got as close as one point in the third quarter, but the Lady Panthers closed the period with 10-2 run and led 46-37 entering the fourth quarter.
Karst hit two 3-pointers, scoring eight points as Harlan County opened the period with a 12-3 spurt, tying the game at 49-all with 3:30 to play.
The game was also even at 51 before Timberly Fredrick nailed a 3-pointer as Central took a 54-51 lead with 1:33 to play.
Karst scored with 12.6 seconds to play as the Lady Bears pulled within one.
Two free throws by Partin made it 56-53 with 8.3 on the clock. Karst took the ball scored in the lane with two seconds to play.
“That was just a freshman attacking the basket. We were out of timeouts and that was just miscommunications on the floor. We were down three and needed a 3. The last shot needed to be 18-foot deeper,” added Nolan.
The Lady Bears outrebounded KC 30-21. Kassy Owens had eight boards for Harlan County while Taylor Lunsford grabbed seven.
Harlan County (8-11) will return to action Monday at home against Pineville (13-4). The Lady Bears will close the regular season on Thursday hosting Red Bird.
Knox Central closes the regular season Thursday, traveling to North Laurel.
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Natalie Fisher scored 10 points and Fredrick added nine as the Lady Panthers won the junior varsity game 33-30.
Taytum Griffin led Harlan County with eight points. Hailey Austin and Jones followed with five each. Paige Phillips and Haley Middleton scored four apiece. Jenna Wilson Leah Davis added two each.
Knox Central 56, Harlan County 55
KNOX CENTRAL (11-5)
Caylan Mills 3-8 2-4 8, Presley Partin 8-12 7-8 24, Zoey Liford 4-7 0-0 9, Brianna Gallagher 3-5 2-5 8, Jaylynn Faine 0-2 0-0 0, Timberly Fredrick 1-3 0-0 3, Natalie Fisher 1-1 0-0 2, Isabella Frost 1-2 0-2 2. Totals: 21-40 11-19 56.
HARLAN COUNTY (8-11)
Ella Karst 12-22 1-2 31, Jacey Lewis 2-9 0-0 6, Kassy Owens 2-6 0-0 4, Kellybeth Hoskins 0-4 2-2 2, Taylor Lunsford 0-2 0-0 0, Kylie Jones 3-7 3-4 10, Taytum Griffin 1-3 0-0 2, Paige Phillips 0-0 0-0 0, Hailey Austin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 20-53 6-8 55.
Knox Central 14 16 16 10 – 56
Harlan County 04 24 09 18 – 55
3-Point goals: Knox Central 3-13 (Partin 1-3, Fredrick 1-3, Liford 1-4, Faine 0-1, Mills 0-2), Harlan County 9-22 (Karst 6-8, Lewis 2-7, Jones 1-2, Griffin 0-2, Hoskins 0-3).
Rebounds: Knox Central 21 (Partin 8, Gallagher 5, Mills 4, Faine 2, Liford 1, Fisher 1), Harlan County 30 (Owens 8, Lunsford 7, Hoskins 6, Jones 3, Phillips 3, Karst 1, Austin 1, Griffin 1).
Assists: Knox Central 10 (Mills 5), Harlan County 7 (Karst 3).
Turnovers: Knox Central 12, Harlan County 12.