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By Bill Templeton
Sports Writer

After dropping a close contest to 52nd District rival Bell County on their home court last month, the Harlan Lady Dragons seemed poised to avenge the setback Tuesday night atop Log Mountain.
But it wasn’t to be.
Bell forced two Harlan turnovers during the final 40 seconds of the contest and escaped with a heart-stopping 68-63 win over the Lady Dragons.
“It was a very hard-fought ballgame; both teams battled for four quarters,” Bell coach David Teague said after the game. “I was proud of our team for making enough plays down the stretch to find a way to win. Harlan has a good team. It’s always good to get a district win.”
Harlan senior Aymanni Wynn had a monster game for the Lady Dragons, scoring 21 of her game-high 26 points during the second half. Wynn knocked down six 3-point baskets.
Senior Kylie Noe added 20 points for Harlan, while freshman Peyshaunce Wynn chipped in with 13 points, including three 3-point baskets during the first half.
Bell County got 25 points from senior Lauren McGeorge, while junior Kairi Lamb scored 22 points to help the Lady Cats improve to 12-4.
McGeorge and Lamb combined for 13 points during the first quarter to push the Lady Cats to an 18-10 lead after eight minutes.
Enter Peyshaunce Wynn.
Wynn knocked down all three of her long-range shots during a productive second quarter for the Lady Dragons, who trailed 31-28 at halftime.
A jumper by freshman Addison Campbell cut the Bell lead to a single point during the opening minute of the third quarter, but McGeorge answered with a triple on the ensuing possession and Bell led by as many as seven points during the waning stages of the stanza.
Enter Aymanni Wynn.
Wynn knocked down two 3-point shots and scored eight points down the stretch for Harlan, and the Lady Dragons trailed, 48-46 heading into the fourth quarter.
Noe knotted the score at 51-51 during the early stages of the fourth quarter, but McGeorge and Lamb combined for eight points over the next three minutes to push the Lady Cats’ lead to 64-56.
A pair of Noe free throws and another triple by Aymanni Wynn cut the deficit to 64-61, and a basket by Noe with 52 seconds remaining in the game made it 64-63.
Following a Harlan timeout, the Lady Dragons were unable to take care of the basketball on their next two possessions and fell to 9-10 on the season.
Next up for Harlan is a 6 p.m. home game Friday against Middlesboro, while Bell hosts South Laurel on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
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Bell County (68) — Gracie Barton 9, Kairi Lamb 22, Nevaeh Allen 1, Lauren McGeorge 25, Lyla Scearse 8, Kaitlyn Middleton 3.
Harlan (63) — Kylie Noe 20, Aymanni Wynn 26, Peyshaunce Wynn 13, Cheyanne Rhymer 2, Addison Campbell 2.

Harlan 10 18 18 17 — 63
Bell County 18 13 17 20 — 68