Harlan County coach Anthony Nolan warned his Lady Bears in a practice session earlier this week what would happen if they didn’t do a great job of keeping standout 5-11 junior forward Halle Collins off the offensive glass in their season-opening game last Tuesday.

Much like a year ago at HCHS, the Lady Bears were unable to block out the Knox star and she responded with a 30-point, 21-rebound explosion that was more than enough to send Knox to a 66-37 victory.

“We got into such a hole in the first quarter by taking quick shots, and Collins feeds off that,” Nolan said.

“She uses her body so well with rebounds. I think we match up pretty well except for that spot, but that’s a difficult matchup. She uses her body as well as any girl I’ve seen in 10-12 years. She also has great hands and a soft touch.”

“She’s a tough matchup because she can pull you out on the floor and she has a knack around the basket. She uses her body really well for a girl her size,” Knox Central coach Steve Warren said.

Freshman guard McKenzie Hensley added 11 points for the Lady Panthers, while junior guard Timberly

Frederick hit three 3-pointers in the second quarter to finish with nine points.

“Frederick hit some big shots in the second quarter. (Jaylynn) Fain also played well, and so did McKenzie Hensley at the point,” Warren said. “She also had the task of guarding (Ella) Karst, and that’s a tough job. She’s a fantastic player, but McKenzie gave her all she had.”

Karst, a senior guard, carried the HCHS offense with 24 points. She became the sixth girl in Harlan County history to score 2,000 points in her career with her 14th point to close the first half. She scored 513 points in two years at Harlan and now has approximately 1,500 in four years at Harlan County.

The Lady Bears shot only 22 percent (11 of 50) from the field with only Karst reaching double figures as they make the adjustment to the graduation of four starters.

“We’ll bounce back. We got punched in the mouth last year and bounced back,” Nolan said. “When you have a lot of new faces you have to learn how to play together against competition. Knox Central is tough, but they gave us a gauge for the rest of the season. This first week is brutal, but we’ll see where we’re at and what we have to do to get to where we need by the end of the season.”

Harlan County hit only one of 12 shots from the field in the first quarter as Knox scored the first 12 points and led 14-5 at the end of the period. The Lady Bears got as close as seven in the second quarter on a Karst 3 before Frederick and Collins took over in a 20-9 run to close the half that pushed the lead to 37-19 lead at the break. Knox outscored HC 19-9 in the third quarter with Collins hitting four of five shots and pulling down seven rebounds.

While their offensive statistics took a big hit with the loss of four starters from last season’s 22-win team, improving a defense that gave up too many open shots and too many easy drives to the basket on Thursday in a 63-57 loss to visiting Leslie County will be the focus for the 0-2 Harlan County Lady Bears in the weeks to come.

Harlan County found itself down 10-2 in the opening four minutes and played from behind the entire way, fighting back several times only to fall short, including in the final minute when the Lady Bears cut the deficit to three. The Lady Bears couldn’t overcome their mistakes, both on offense, defense and on the boards.

“It’s those key possessions when you have people in new roles who have to grow up,” Harlan County coach Anthony Nolan said. “We have to learn how to finish games. We gave up way too many points. We did a poor job defensively, and we have to fix that more than anything else. We have kids who aren’t making the effort to get out there and guard the 3-point shooters, and they aren’t closing out the gaps. We have to improve our defense. Otherwise, it’s going to be a long season.”

Iris Napier, a senior guard, poured in 25 points to lead Leslie County. Sophomore guard Ava Napier scored 16 points and senior point guard Eden Melton added 11 for the 1-1 Lady Eagles, who opened the season Monday with a loss at Pineville.

Senior guard Ella Karst, who was honored before the game for reaching the 2,000-point plateau in a loss last Tuesday at Knox Central again led the Lady Bears with 29 points.

“These are growing pains. Every possession matters, and we stand there and watch the ball instead of getting position,” Nolan said. “Our reaction time is too slow. We gave up four offensive rebounds in one possession against four guards, and that’s unacceptable. We also made some bad decisions in the open floor and took a couple of quick shots.”

Harlan County hit only three of nine shots in the opening quarter and turned the ball over seven times during its second straight slow start. Senior guard Faith Hoskins had two of the Lady Bears’ baskets in the period as they got as close as four late in the period before an Ava Napier 3 pushed the lead to 18-11.

Karst had three baskets in the second quarter while Hoskins and Paige Phillips added two each as HCHS got as close as three midway through the period. Ava Napier hit three shots in the quarter, including a 3, as Leslie moved back out to a five-point lead, at 32-27, by halftime.

Ava Napier and Iris Napier each had two baskets in the third period as Leslie maintained its lead despite Kylie Jones heating up with a pair of 3-pointers to pull HCHS within five before the Lady Eagles hit three of four at the line to build a 51-43 advantage.

Leslie hit only three of 11 shots in the fourth quarter as HCHS stayed close, getting as close as 60-57 with 54.9 seconds left after five straight points by Karst. Iris Napier hit two free throws and Bailey Smith hit one to close out the game as the Lady Bears were unable to force a turnover.

Facing the 13th Region’s top-ranked team, the Harlan County Lady Bears fell to 0-3 with a 66-49 loss Friday at home against Corbin.

Led by Darcie Anderson’s 18-point night, Corbin jumped out to a 23-10 lead after one quarter and stayed in control even though the Lady Bears fought back to within 10 points at halftime.

“Always good to get the jitters and excitement of the first game out of the way,” Corbin coach Isaac Wilson told the 13th Region Media Network. “Playing at Harlan County is always tough. Long travel is always a worry to anyone about starting off slow. We showed plenty of room to improve tonight, but I’m overall happy for us to begin the year with a win.”

Kallie Housley also scored in double figures for the Lady Redhounds, finishing with 14 points. Kylie Clem added 11 points, and Bailey Stewart finished with 10.

Harlan County’s Ella Karst led all scorers with 30 points.

The Lady Bears will play host to Whitley County on Tuesday.