Bell County captured its fifth straight 2A, Section 7 title Friday, but it wasn’t easy.

The Lady Cats rallied from 15 points down to knock off Perry Central 76-69 in the championship game at McCreary Central.

Senior forward Gracie Wilder led the Lady Cats with 29 points, scoring her 2,000th career point in the process. Kairi Lamb added 21 points, Lauren McGeorge scored 15.

“I was extremely proud of the way our team played in the two games during the sectional 2A.  Both games were hard fought games, and the girls made plays on both ends of the floor at big times,” Bell County coach David Teague said. “I’m super proud of my team of the fight and energy that they played with.  Big accomplishment by them to win the Section 2A for the fifth straight time.  Hopefully, we can go back to Owensboro and make a good showing.”

Bell County advanced to the finals with a 76-69 win Thursday over Whitley County.Wilder scored 19 to lead the Lady Cats. Lamb and McGeorge added 15 and 12 points, respectively.

“The Whitley Co game neither team really got going offensively, but we made enough shots when we needed them. I was very pleased with the way that we played defensively,” Teague said. “The Perry Central game we started out well early in the game.  Perry made shots in the second half, and we got down 14 points at one point. I challenged the girls to cut the lead down by half by a certain point and they responded. Our defensive energy picked up and we started getting things offensively out in transition.  We had a big fourth quarter and it was a total team effort. “

Bell County (10-4) will play host to Harlan County on Tuesday.

Scoring summary

Game 2

Bell County (76) — Gracie Wilder 29, Kairi Lamb 21, Lauren McGeorge 15, Kylee Greer-Gann 8, Nevaeh Allen 3.

Perry Central (69) — Kyra McAlarnis 24, Emmalee Neace 14, Brooklyn Cornett 12, Shyanne Couch 8, Taylor Couch 8, Ryleigh Feltner 2, Shawna Anderson 1.

Game 1

Bell County (56) — Gracie Wilder 18, Kairi Lamb 15, Lauren McGeorge 12, Nevaeh  Allen 8, Kylee Greer-Gann 3.

Whitley County (42) — Madisyn Hopkins 16, Jonna Rice 10, Aubree Clemens 9. Amber Brown 7.