PIKEVILLE — Not unlike the little girl with the curl in the nursery rhyme, the Harlan County Lady Bears have rarely been able to find a middle ground during the 2019 season.

When they have been good, they have usually been very good, winning by an average of over 23 points in their 15 victories, including 13 wins in double digits. But when the Lady Bears have been bad, as they were Saturday at Pike Central, they have struggled mightily. Harlan County’s four losses have been by an average of over 20 points per game, capped by a 63-45 loss in the final game of the Lady Hawks Hoops Classic.

“We were doing a lot of ball watching on defense. We lost our rotation so many times today,” Harlan County coach Debbie Green said. “We just didn’t play with the emotion we needed. We have to put this behind us and get ready for two district games next week.”

Pike Central (15-6), one of the 15th Region favorites, placed three in double figures, led by Cassidy Mullins with 19 points. Bailey Burchfield tossed in 17. Kelsie Brinegar added 11.

Senior guard Reanna Middleton paced the Lady Bears with 20 points. Senior center Breann Turner added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Pike was able to get to the basket at will in the first quarter and closed with a 7-0 run on baskets by Lexie Newsome, Burchfield and Mullins to go up 12-5. The Lady Bears hit only two of 10 shots in the opening period.

Middleton had two baskets for HCHS in the second quarter, cutting the deficit to three on two occasions. Brinegar had two baskets for the Lady Hawks, who pulled back out to a seven-point lead, at 27-20, by halftime.

Pike Central’s lead grew to 10 before Middleton reeled off eight points in a 10-3 run that cut the deficit to three with 2:47 left in the period. The Lady Bears were unable to build on their momentum as Burchfield and Mullins each hit 3-pointers to push the lead back to 10 going into the final quarter.

The Lady Bears were unable to mount another comeback in the fourth quarter with seven turnovers in the period. The Lady Hawks owned a 9-4 advantage on the boards in the quarter as they outhustled and outexecuted HCHS down the stretch to go up by as many as 22 points.

Harlan County returns to action Tuesday in a girls/boys doubleheader against visiting Middlesboro.

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Pike Central 63, Harlan County 45

HARLAN COUNTY (15-4)

Phebe McHargue 0-7 0-0 0, K.K. Johnson 2-5 2-2 7, Reanna Middleton 8-17 0-0 20, Morgan Blakley 2-6 0-2 4, Breann Turner 5-8 0-3 10, Hannah Wood 0-1 0-0 0, Kassy Owens 1-1 0-0 2, Jacey Lewis 1-1 0-0 2, Kelly Beth Hoskins 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 19-46 2-7 45.

PIKE CENTRAL (15-6)

Cassidy Mullins 7-16 2-2 19, Hailey Boyd 1-3 1-2 3, Bailey Burchfield 7-12 0-0 17, Lexie Newsome 1-3 3-4 5, Kelsie Brinegar 3-9 5-7 11, Chloe Neace 2-4 3-3 8, Alicen May 0-0 0-0 0, Alexis Taylor 0-1 0-0 0, Lakota Johnson 0-1 0-0 0, Hannah May 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 21-49 14-18 63.

Harlan County 5 15 16 9 — 45

Pike Central 12 15 19 17 — 63

3-point goals: Harlan County 5-14 (Middleton 4-9, Johnson 1-2, McHargue 0-3), Pike Central 7-14 (Burchfield 3-4, Mullins 3-5, Neace 1-3, Newsome 0-1, Brinegar 0-1). Rebounds: Harlan County 22 (Turner 10, Blakley 5, Middleton 2, Owens 2, McHargue 1, Johnson 1, Hoskins 1), Pike Central 33 (Brinegar 11, Mullins 6, Boyd 4, Newsome 4, Burchfield 3, Neace 3, May 2). Turnovers: Harlan County 14, Pike Central 13. Fouled out: Harlan County (Turner).