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Lady Dragons roll past Powell to close play in City Between the Lakes tourney

Staff Report

Harlan closed its trip to the City Between the Lakes Christmas Classic at Paintsville impressively with a 76-42 rout of Powell County on Thursday morning.

Emma Owens and Aymanni Wynn each scored 21 points to lead the 5-4 Lady Dragons. Kylie Noe and Peyshaunce Wynn each added 13 points.

Senior guard Mikyra Caudill, one of the 14th Region’s top-rated players, led the 4-8 Lady Pirates with 19 points. Trinity Romans scored 12.

Harlan travels west next week to play in the Vanous Lloyd Christmas Tournament at Warren Central High School in Bowling Green.

Lady Dragons’ streak ends with loss to Virginia squad in tourney

Harlan’s four-game winning streak came to an end Thursday as the Lady Dragons fell 71-50 Ridgeview, Va., in the City Between the Lakes Christmas Classic at Paintsville.

Ridgeview placed four in double figures, led by Hadaya Abshie, who scored 19 points. Caylee Sykes scored 14. Braelynn Strouth and Adiah Perry added 11 each.

Kylie Noe scored 27 and Emma Owens added 17 for the Lady Dragons.

Three Lady Dragons team for 79 points in win over Estill

Harlan’s big three of Emma Owens, Aymanni Wynn and Kylie Noe combined for 79 points last Wednesday in the first round of the City Between the Lakes Christmas Classic at Paintsville, which proved to be more than enough to lead the Lady Dragons to an 82-60 win over Estill County.

Owens, a senior guard, scored 30 to lead the Lady Dragons, including nine in the first quarter as the Lady Dragons took an early 13-10 lead.

Wynn added 25 points and had nine in the second quarter as Harlan extended its lead to 32-20 at the break.

Noe finished with 24 points, scoring 10 in the third period as the Lady Dragons built a 53-38 advantage.

The Lady Dragons blew the game opening in the fourth quarter, outscoring Estill 29-13, including 12 of 18 at the free throw line. Owens scored 11 in the quarter, Noe added 10, and Wynn scored eight.

Lady Bears score game’s first 24 points in victory over Lynn Camp

By John Henson

Contributing Sports Writer

Struggling through one of the roughest starts in program history, the Harlan County Lady Bears hope they turned the corner this week in the Short-Redmond Holiday Classic at Bell County.

The Lady Bears pushed district favorite Bell County to the final seconds last Wednesday before falling by four, then rallied for a 49-41 victory Thursday over Lincoln County and closed tourney play Friday with a 68-23 rout of Lynn Camp. The Lady Bears scored the game’s first 24 points by forcing 14 turnovers and coasted to a 68-23 victory.

“We talked before we came out that we needed to be aggressive and establish our defense at the beginning. We wanted to be able to force turnovers and finish at the same time. Our kids we aggressive when we came out and our other kids followed suit,” Harlan County coach Anthony Nolan said. “I see gradual growth. We have kids assuming their roles and playing with a little more confidence. If we can continue to progress that way, I think we’ll be very competitive by the end of the year. We’ve had exponential growth in this tournament.”

Senior guard Ella Karst once again led the HCHS offense with 29 points on 10-of-19 shooting. Faith Hoskins and Paige Phillips added nine and eight points, respectively, as the Lady Bears improved to 4-6 on the season.

Sophomore guard Lauren Partin led the 2-11 Lady Cats with 12 points.

Hoskins hit three 3-pointers in the opening quarter to ignite the Lady Bears’ early onslaught, earning most valuable player honors in the process. Karst had five baskets in the period as the lead grew to 29-3 by the end of the period.

Phillips, who hit all four of her shots in the first half, added two more baskets in the second quarter. Sophomore guard Whitney Noe provided a spark off the bench by hitting a pair of 3-pointers to help extend the lead to 48-10 at halftime.

Karst had all three HCHS baskets in the third quarter as Lynn Camp outscored the Lady Bears 10-8.

The Harlan County reserves outscored the Lady Cats 12-3 in the fourth quarter as Maddi Middleton, Jaylee Cochran, Kylee Runions and Jaycee Simpson each had baskets while Reagan Clem and Runions hit free throws.

Harlan County will return to action Wednesday in the Chain Rock Classic at Pineville.

Strong finish helps Bell hold off Lady Bears’ upset bid

With four straight 52nd District championships to their credit and four starters back, the Bell County Lady Cats entered the 2024 season as a huge favorite to repeat.

However, the Harlan County Lady Bears did all they could Wednesday to show there is some parity in this year’s district race as they battled to the final buzzer before falling 69-65 in the first day of play at the Short-Redmond Holiday Classic.

“I thought we were playing with fear the first four minutes, but we settled down and matched them on the glass from that point on. I thought that was a key factor,” Harlan County coach Anthony Nolan said. “I think we grew up in a lot of positions; sometimes, one or two free throws or a charge call makes a difference in a game like this. These girls have to learn to win.”

Senior forward Gracie Jo Wilder was the difference for the 4-3 Lady Cats with a 39-point night, including hitting seven of eight shots in the decisive fourth quarter.

Senior guard Ella Karst was just as dominant for the Lady Bears with a 38-point night that included a five-for-five night from the 3-point line.

“I don’t know if I’ve seen a kid shoot as well as she did the first half,” Bell County coach David Teague said. “She was coming off ball screens and shooting deep. I thought Lauren (McGeorge) was doing a good job on her, but she is just that capable of doing that.”

Harlan County led by two at halftime, thanks to a 25-point first half from Karst, and was up by four going into the fourth quarter. Bell hit nine of 12 shots in the final quarter, led by 18 points from Wilder, to pull ahead.