By John Henson

Contributing Writer

After 16 straight wins going back to early September, the Bell County Lady Cats headed into a 13th Region Tournament semifinal showdown against defending champ Whitley County with momentum and a chance to reach the championship game for the first time.

Whitley County put those dreams to rest with a 25-19, 25-14, 25-6 rout on Monday at Lynn Camp High School.

The win turned out to be a program-record for the Lady Colonels as Whitley County improved to 33-2 heading into a rematch from the 50th District finals against Corbin on Tuesday in the regional finals.

“I had concerns about this match,” Whitley County coach David Halcomb said to the 13th Region Media Network. “Bell County had a great season and won a lot of matches this year. I knew they would present some challenges for us that we hadn’t seen. We did start out a little slow, but once we adapted to what they were doing and settled in we got it clicking. Our serving was phenomenal tonight and I thought we played scrappy defense.”

Bell County closed its record-breaking season with a 32-7 record and 52nd District Tournament championship.

“I want to first of all thank my players for all their dedication and hard work throughout the season, I feel like their hard work paid off,” Bell County coach Shawn Fultz said. “I’m very proud of the girls efforts. They are a great group of girls and were a lot of fun to coach. Let me also say to our seniors that I wish them all the best in the future and they will be missed.”