By John Henson

Sports Writer

MIDDLESBORO — A Pineville team that lost six of its first seven this season has now won five of its last six, and it’s not terribly hard to identify one big reason for the turnaround.
The Lady Lions have found the balance they often lacked early in the season, and that was evident Sunday at Middlesboro in a 71-42 win over Lynn Camp in the 13th Region All “A” Classic quarterfinals as four reached double figures.
“We had some people step up when our scorers weren’t scoring. I’m just pleased with the whole group of kids,” Pineville coach Elgie Green said.
Senior guard Ava Arnett scored 22 points to lead the 6-7 Lady Lions. Madison Johnson tossed in 18, while Kamryn Biliter chipped in with 15. Junior forward Rachel Howard added 10 points while reaching the 1,000-point mark for her career with a basket at the 1:20 mark of the second quarter.
“I thought we ran our offense and got the shots we wanted,” Green said. “We struggled hitting a lot of those shots, but our defense was good enough that we were able to get out in transition and finish in transition. I’m pleased with the way our kids played, especially on the defensive side.”
The 4-6 Lady Cats were led by freshman forward Aubrey Hollin 10 points off the bench,. Madison Weymers chipped in with nine points.
Pineville will play Middlesboro in the second semifinal on Monday with defending champ Harlan taking on Jackson County in the opening game. The championship game is set for Tuesday.
“I thin the four teams in the semifinals are very close,” Green said. “Each team has a little different style of playing. I think playing three in a row like this will mean it comes down to who has the most stamina and who wants it the most.”
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Pineville (71) — Addison Arnett 0, Madison Johnson 18, Kamryn Biliter 15, Ava Arnett 22, Rachel Howard 10, Clara Strange 3, Kaelyn Burnett 2, Jaclyn Patrick 1.
Lynn Camp (42) — Lily Henize 3, Madison Weymers 9, Isabella Fox 2, Cambree Prewitt 8, Lauren Partin 8, Jayden Petrey 2, Aubrey Hollin 10.

Pineville 18 22 22 9 — 71
Lynn Camp 8 15 10 9 — 42