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By John Henson
Sports Writer
MANCHESTER — With a five-game winning streak heading into the last two weeks of the regular season, the Harlan Lady Dragons appear to be playing their best basketball, They made quick work of defending 14th Region champ Owsley County on Saturday in the Donnie Gray Shootout at Clay County, rolling a surprisingly easy 67-38 victory.
“That was one the best performances we’ve had in a long time,” Harlan coach Mackenzie Varner said,. “They hit open shots and shared the ball.”
Harlan (15-11) was effective offensively from the start, hitting 11 of 22 3-point attempts. Senior guard Aymanni Wynn set the tone, hitting four of five shots in the first quarter on the way to a 24-point night, Cheyenne Rhymer added three 3s and scored 15 points, Kylie Noe and Peyshaunce Wynn added 11 points each.
The Lady Dragons also played well on defense, containing Owsley’s potent frontcourt tandem of 6-3 center Macie Brown and 6-2 forward Kamilla Marcum.
“I thought Aymanni and Abbi (Fields) did a good job down low on defense,” Varner said, “That was great practice for us going into the district.”
Brown was the only consistent threat for the 12-11 Lady Owls with 23 of the team’s 38 points.
Wynn hit all three of her shots in the second quarter as the Harlan lead grew to 33-17 at halftime. Rhymer had three baskets in the third period, while Aymann Wynn and Peyshaunce Wynn added two each as Harlan outscored Owsley 16-11.
Harlan plays host to Knox Central on Monday.
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Harlan 67, Owsley County 38
OWSLEY COUNTY (12-11)
Delaney Smith 2-7 0-2 4, Kenzie Grubb 1-7 5-8 7, Harley Dooley 0-1 1-2 1, Kamilla Marcum 1-10 0-1 3, Macey Brown 7-18 5-9 23, Kiley Taylor 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 12-44 11-21 38.
HARLAN (15-11)
Peyshaunce Wynn 4-11 1-2 11, Aymanni Wynn 9-14 1-3 24, Cheyenne Rhymer 6-11 0-0 15, Kylie Noe 5-13 1-3 11, Abbi Fields 0-0 0-0 0, Raegan Goodman 1-4 1-2 4, Shelby Doan 0-0 0-0 0, Gracie Hensley 1-1 0–0 2, Addyson Patton 0-0 0-0 0, Clarissa Yost 0-1 0-0 0, JaLynn Pennington 0-0 0-0 0, Talae Taylor 0-0 0-0 0, Totals: 26-57 4-10 67.

Owsley County 7 10 11 10 — 38
Harlan 17 16 18 16 — 67
3-point goals: Owsley County 3-12 (Brown 2-3, Marcum 1-4, Dooley 0-1, Smith 0-2, Grubb 1-2), Harlan 11-22 (A. Wynn 5-9, Rhymer 3-4, P. Wynn 2-7, Goodman 1-1, Yost 0-1). Rebounds: Owsley County 28 (Brown 10, Marcum 8, Dooley 4, Smith 3, Grubb 3), Harlan 38 (Fields 8, Noe 7, A. Wynn 6, Rhymer 6, Goodman 6, P, Wynn 3, Hensley 1, Patton 1, Yost 1, Pennington 1), Turnovers: Owsley County 9, Harlan 9. Fouled out: None.

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“A team that can’t hit free throws in March is like a dog that chases cars. Neither one is going to last very long.”

Bobby Keith

 

MANCHESTER — Clay County’s legendary coach was one of the best in Kentucky history. So good, in fact, that the gymnasium at the high school where he coached from 1970 to 1999 is named in his honor.
One of his most famous lines focused on the dangers of missing free throws. It was a truth that the youthful Harlan County Lady Bears learned Saturday during the Donnie Gray Shootout as they missed 15 of 29 free throws in a 55-42 loss at Clay County.
Harlan County played even for a half with a 22-all score at the break, but HCs inability to hit free throws and success getting the ball inside helped the Lady Tigers take control.
“You can’t go on the road and expect to beat anybody when you miss 15 free throws,” Harlan County coach Gary Greer said. “We dug ourselves and forced to gamble and do things we’re not very good at right now. If we make the free throws, we don’t have to do those things. I thought our press gave them some problems. They took some quick shots, but then we didn’t get the rebound on the back side. Little things like that really cost you.”
Seventh-grade guard Maci White led the 14-10 Lady Tigers with 16 points. Sophomore Madison Pendland added 14 points. Sophomore center Carly Fultz added 11 points and 19 rebounds.
“I thought we were settling too much in the first half,” Clay County coach Gemma Gray said. “We had a huge height advantage, but we weren’t attacking. We wanted to use our height. We knew they could shoot and were fast, but we wanted to finish around the rim.”
Freshman guard Kylee Runions scored 15 points to lead the 7-17 Lady Bears. Jaycee Simpson and Taylynn Napier added eight each.
Clay led 15-12 after one quarter, but the Lady Bears fought back in the second quarter to pull even at the break. The Lady Tigers missed 16 of 18 shots in the second quarter.
“It was a physical game and once we started making moves and going to the basket we did a.lot better job in the second quarter,” Greer said. “We played a lot better.”
White heated up in the third quarter with three baskets as the Lady Tigers started to pull away, building a 40-31 lead. Harlan County got as close as eight with 5:38 left but missed seven of 10 at the line as Clay closed the game with a 6-1 run.
After losing 20 games last year, the Lady Tigers are one of the region’s most improved teams this season.
“We have a lot of younger girls playing, but these girls have really worked hard and bought into what we’re doing,” Gray said. “They have a little confidence now, and that makes a big difference. They are a great group and work really hard.”
Harlan County plays host to Knott Central on Tuesday and travels to Middlesboro on Wednesday.
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Clay County 55, Harlan County 42
HARLAN COUNTY (7-17)
Jaycee Simpson 2-8 4-7 8, Reagan Clem 0-4 1-2 1, Jaylee Cochran 1-6 0-4 2, Kylee Runions 6-12 2-2 15, Lacey Robinson 2-2 0-0 5, Taylynn Napier 1-4 6-10 8, Lauren Lewis 1-2 0-0 2, Raegan Landa 0-2 1-4 1. Totals: 13-40 14-29 42.
CLAY COUNTY (14-10)
Daisy Samples 1-2 0-0 3, Anne Samples 2-6 2-4 6, Macie White 5-14 4-4 16, Madison Pendland 6-10 2-3 14, Carley Fultz 5-10 1-2 11, Harper Rice 2-8 1-4 5, Holly Hacker 0-1 0-0 0, Totals: 21-51 10-17 55.

Harlan County 12 10 9 11 — 42
Clay County 15 7 18 15 — 55
3-point goals: Harlan County 2-10 (Robinson 1-1, Runions 1-2, Simpson 0-1, Cochran 0-1, Napier 0-1, Lewis 0-1, Clem 0-3), Clay County 3-11 (White 2-5, D. Samples 1-2, A. Samples 0-2, Pendland 0-2), Rebounds: Harlan County 25 (Landa 6, Cochran 5, Robinson 4, Runions 3, Napier 3, Simpson 2, Clem 1, Lewis 1), Clay County 38 (Fultz 19, Rice 6, Pendland 4, White 4, D. Samples 3, A. Samples 2). Turnovers: Harlan County 9, Clay County 10, Fouled outL None.