Lady Dragons close tourney with two wins

Published 5:15 pm Sunday, December 31, 2017

Harlan closed out the 2017 portion of its schedule with a pair of wins over the weekend in the Clell Miller Memorial Holiday Classic at Memorial Gym with a 65-20 rout of Breathitt County on Friday and a 54-51 win over Skyline, Ala., on Saturday to place fifth in the eighth-team tournament.

The Lady Dragons showed improvement in two troublesome areas on Saturday, cutting their turnovers down to only six and hitting five of 10 3-pointers to enter the new year with a 6-6 record.

“(Noah) Canady handled their pressure real well and our guards probably played their best defense of the year,” said Harlan coach Tiffany Hamm. “(Mackenzie) King got us off to a good start offensively and (Payeton) Charles had a big fourth quarter.”

Email newsletter signup

King, a senior forward, led the Lady Dragons with 22 points and eight rebounds. She outscored the entire Skyline roster in the first quarter, 12-11, as Harlan built a five-point lead after one quarter. The Harlan lead was still five, at 28-23, going into the second half.

Skyline closed to within two going into the fourth quarter when King, with five free throws and seven points, and Charles, with two 3-pointers and eight points, took over to help Harlan hang on for the win. Charles finished with 13 points, including three 3-pointers.

The Lady Dragons had no trouble with Breathitt County on Friday, limiting the Lady Cats to only 10 points through the opening three periods, including one point in the third quarter.

King scored 18 points to lead Harlan. Katelyn Burkhart came off the bench to add 11 points.

Harlan will play host to Leslie County on Tuesday.

———

Harlan 54, Skyline, Ala., 51

HARLAN (6-6)

Payeton Charles 5 0-1 13, Noah Canady 3 2-7 8, Taylor Simpson 2 0-0 4 Mackenzie King 7 6-10 22, Natalee King 2 1-1 5, Whitney Wilson 0 0-0 0, Katelyn Burkhart 0 0-0 0. Totals: 20 9-15 54.

SKYLINE, ALA.

Katy Ledwell 5 2-3 13, Tabitha Gifford 4 0-0 9, Madison Smith 3 0-0 7, Bailey Martin 0 0-0 0, Bailey Usrey 3 7-10 13, Summer Buckner 1 2-4 5, Gracy Stuckey 1 2-5 4, Allie McAllister 0 0-0 0. Totals: 17 13-22 51.

Harlan 16 12 9 17 — 54

Skyline, Ala. 11 12 12 16 — 51

3-point goals: Harlan 5 (Charles 3, M. King 2), Skyline, Alab. 4 (Ledwell 1, Gifford 1, Smith 1, Buckner 1).

———

Harlan 65, Breathitt County 20

HARLAN (5-6)

Payeton Charles 2 0-0 5, Noah Canady 5 0-0 12, Taylor Simpson 1 0-0 2, Mackenzie King 7 2-5 18, Brandi Haywood 2 0-2 4, Natalee King 3 0-0 7, Whitney Wilson 1 0-0 2, Katelyn Burkhart 3 5-5 11, Alli Thompson 1 0-2 2, Makayla Sizemore 1 0-0 2, Kaylee Leslie 0 0-2 0, Angel Wynn 0 0-0 0. Totals: 26 7-16 65.

BREATHITT COUNTY (3-7)

Emily Noble 1 0-0 2, Kaylee Clemons 1 4-6 7, Bailey Miller 1 0-0 2, Adreanna Schultz 0 0-0 0, Morgan McIntosh 0 0-0 0, Ruthie Haddix 1 0-0 2, Riley Bush 1 0-0 3, Lexie Francis 1 1-2 3, Madison Combs 0 1-4 1, Allie Noble 0 0-0 0, Kaylee Ritchie 0 0-0 0. Totals: 6 6-12 20.

Harlan 16 27 20 2 — 65

Breathitt County 5 4 1 10 — 20

3-point goals: Harlan 6 (Canady 2, M. King 2, Charles 1, N. King 1), Breathitt County 2 (Clemons 1, Bush 1).