It seemed the Harlan Lady Dragons had found ways to lose close games in their 0-5 start this season. The Lady Dragons found a way to win Saturday against visiting Lee, Va., in the Doc Gray Classic.

With star forward Natalee King out of the game after picking up her fifth foul and the Lady Dragons clinging to a one-point lead, Harlan made the plays down the stretch to pull away for a 66-60 victory.

“I thought we were pretty evenly matched, based on what they did against HC and Bell, because the scores were similar to us,” Harlan coach Tiffany Hamm said. “I thought we grew up a little bit. We were mentally tough against some adversity, which I didn’t see the first four or five games.

Senior guard Payeton Charles scored 23 points to lead the 1-6 Lady Dragons. King added 19 despite her foul problems.

The Lady Dragons also got some clutch play from other sources, especially sophomore guard Angel Wynn, who hit two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter with the game on the line.

“We’ve played a lot of people and several girls have contributed for us,” Hamm said. “Peighton Jones had scored several baskets on right-handed drives to the basket. I told her if the stepped over to take that away, someone would be open in the corner. She hit two big shots, then Payeton did a nice job handling the ball late in the game.”

Shelbie Fannon and Kandace Quillen each scored 13 for the 2-5 Lady Generals.

Harlan will play host to Barbourville on Tuesday before traveling to Lexington Sayre on Thursday for a tournament.

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Lee edged Harlan 30-28 in junior varsity action as Madison Jessee led the Lady Generals with 10 points.

Reagan Jones led the Lady Dragons with nine points. Emma Owens tossed in six, followed by Peighton Jones with four, Aymanni Wynn with three and Angel Wynn, Campbell Nunez and Faith Hoskins with two each.

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Harlan 66, Lee, Va. 60

LEE, VA. (2-5)

Abbey Middleton 3 3-4 10, Kaitlyn Brown 0 0-2 0 , Shelbie Fannon 4 3-10 13, Kandace Quillen 4 3-10 13, Kattie Martin 2 1-2 5, Pauline Talentino 0 4-4 4, Jackie Nickodam 0 0-0 0, Baylee Cox 0 2-2 2. Totals: 20 17-31 60.

HARLAN (1-6)

Payeton Charles 10 2-4 23, Ella Karst 3 0-0 7, Savanna Smith 2 0-0 5, Natalee King 6 7-13 19, Alli Thompson 1 0-0 2, Madison Cole 0 0-0 0, Angel Wynn 3 1-2 9, Emma Owens 0 0-0 0, Peighton Jones 0 0-0 0, Reagan Jones 0 1-2 1, Kaylee Leslie 0 0-0 0. Totals: 25 11-21 66.

Lee, Va. 17 13 15 15 — 60

Harlan 14 19 15 18 — 66

3-point goals: Lee 3 (Quillen 2, Middleton 1), Harlan 5 (Wynn 2, Charles 1, Karst 1, Smith 1).