Harlan County’s dominance in the district continued on Tuesday when they welcomed Middlesboro to town. After a close first quarter, the Lady Bears took control of the game en route to a 75-55 victory over the Lady Jackets.

“We just really wanted to come out with a lot of energy,” said Harlan County coach Debbie Green. “We’re just working on our defense and playing consistently. I think our group as a whole, that core group, is just really playing on another level right now. I think they’re just really starting to gear toward February now.”

Reanna Middleton led Harlan County with 21 points while hitting four 3-pointers. Hannah Word tallied 12 points on the night, while Phebe McHargue finished the game with 10.

For Middlesboro, it was Kailey Owens who paced the team. The freshman forward scored a team-high 19 points with the majority of her points coming from the field. Macy Mink finished with 11 points.

“The sky is the limit for (Kailey Owens),” said Middlesboro coach Scott Overbay. “If I can get her in the weight room, she’s going to be one of the top players in the region by the time she’s a junior or senior. I told her she can average a double-double every game. She did it out in Louisville. I’m just really proud of her.”

Harlan County jumped up early in the first taking an 11-2 lead midway through the period on a Word basket. A Baylee Woody 3-pointer ended the run and cut the lead to 11-5. Owens hit a 3-pointer after a Lady Bear basket to narrow the deficit to 13-8.

The two teams traded baskets down the stretch with Harlan County taking a 16-8 lead heading into the second.

Harlan County began taking control of the game in the second, outscoring the Lady Jackets 32-12. The Lady Bears opened the quarter on an 8-0 run with back-to-back 3-pointers from Middleton. McHargue capped the run with a layup to give Harlan County a 24-8 lead.

Owens ended the run with a layup to cut the lead to 24-10. Consecutive baskets from the Lady Bears increased the lead to 29-10 with just over four minutes remaining in the half.

Harlan County continued to break away with a 10-0 run midway through the period. Breann Turner capped the run with a putback basket that gave the Lady Bears a 41-14 lead.

Harlan County ended the half with baskets from Turner and McHargue to take a 48-20 lead into halftime.

“I thought our first half defense was really (good). Everybody was locked in,” Green said. “I’m just really pleased. We’ve been really focusing on that lately and trying to get to another level right now.”

Middlesboro closed the gap in the second half but was only able to cut the lead below 20 once — on a 3-pointer from Mink. Harlan County would end up earning the 20-point victory following a basket seconds before the buzzer sounded.

“We made too many mistakes,” Overbay said. “We’re still a young team and still learning. We have to cut down on our unforced turnovers, and we have to make those bunny shots. Tonight, we missed enough layups and short jumpers to have another 20 to 25 points.

“We beat Bell County the other night, (so) we might’ve still had a little hangover from that. Once we get them grounded back and hit the grind, our goal now is to be able to make the region (tournament).”

Up Next

Harlan County (16-4) will host Harlan (6-16) on Friday.

Middlesboro (9-14) will host Bell County (9-13) on Friday.

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Harlan County 75, Middlesboro 55

MIDDLESBORO (9-14)

Brittany Davis 2-8 2-3 6, Grace Gent 1-5 0-0 3, Baylee Woody 4-8 0-0 9, Lakyn King 1-1 0-0 2, Kailey Owens 8-13 2-2 19, Macy Mink 4-4 0-0 11, Aubrey Sowders 1-4 0-0 3, Gracie Moles 1-2 0-0 2, Macy Green 0-0 0-0 0, Marta Segura 0-0 0-0 0, Emrey Glover 0-1 0-0 0, Brynlee Foster 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 22-46 4-5 55.

HARLAN COUNTY (16-4)

Phebe McHargue 4-8 0-0 10, K.K. Johnson 2-7 6-7 10, Reanna Middleton 8-14 1-2 21, Morgan Blakley 3-10 2-4 8, Breann Turner 4-6 0-2 8, Hannah Wood 4-10 1-2 11, Kassy Owens 0-3 0-0 0, Jacey Lewis 1-3 0-0 3, Kelly Beth Hoskins 0-1 0-0 0, Jaylin Preston 0-1 0-0 0, Jaylin Smith 1-1 0-0 2, Haley Middleton 1-1 0-0 2, Taylor Lunsford 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 28-65 10-17 75.

Middlesboro 8 12 14 21 — 55

Harlan County 16 32 11 16 — 75

3-point goals: Middlesboro 7-16 (Mink 3-3, Woody 1-2, Owens 1-2, Sowders 1-2, Gent 1-4, Glover 0-1, Davis 0-2), Harlan County 9-27 (Middleton 4-9, Wood 2-5, McHargue 2-6, Lewis 1-3, Owens 0-1, Preston 0-1, Johnson 0-2). Rebounds: Middlesboro 25 (Owens 12, Davis 3, King 3, Gent 2, Woody 2, Mink 1, Sowders 1, Moles 1), Harlan County 35 (Turner 11, Blakey 6, Wood 5, Middleton 4, Owens 2, Lewis 2, Smith 2, McHargue 1, Johnson 1, Hoskins 1). Turnovers: Middlesboro 18, Harlan County 8. Technical fouls: Harlan County (Wood). Fouled out: None.