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Knox Central showed much toughness and excellent shooting as they began the 2022-23 with a commanding 81-60 win over host Harlan County on Thursday.

Halle Collins, a 5-11 sophomore forward, poured in 26 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Lady Panthers.

Sophomore guard Timberly Frederick followed with 15 points, including five of seven 3-pointers. McKenzie Hensley, an eighth-grade guard, tossed in 13 points, while senior forward Emily Mills added 10 points.

“Collins is a great player who uses her body well and can get it out to their shooters. They hit some big shots tonight, and that makes them very hard to guard,” said Harlan County coach Anthony Nolan. “They are a very scrappy team, and we did our best to stay with them, but we just missed too many layups and free throws. That just killed our momentum.”

Junior guard Ella Karst played the entire game and contributed 23 points in the loss. Senior guard Hailey Austin added 12, while Taytum Griffin scored eight. Taylor Lunsford and Jaylin Smith were each held to three points.

Lunsford had a team-high seven rebounds before fouling out of the game late.

The game got heated at times with physical play and some poor officiating throughout the night.

Griffin was called for a technical in the fourth quarter for HC.

A pair of Fredrick 3-points and three baskets by Collins helped the Lady Panthers take an 18-8 advantage after one quarter.

Both teams exchanged baskets throughout the second period.

A jumper by Collins with 6:19 remaining in the first half put Knox ahead 24-10.

“We weren’t getting stops consistently,” said Nolan. “Collins is really a great players. She has great hands and uses her body as good as anybody I’ve seen.” The Lady Bears would get as close as eight points as the Lady Panthers went into the break leading 36-28.

The third quarter was the difference on the night for the visitors to win, as KC outscored the Lady Bears 27-11.

The Lady Panthers hit four treys in the period, completed a three-point play, and used a 10-0 run late in the quarter to stretch the lead to 63-39.

“The third quarter was big for us,” said Knox Central coach Steve Warren. “We challenged the girls at halftime. I’m really proud of our girls’ effort tonight. This was our first game.”

The advantage grew to 29, at 79-50, but HCHS closed the game with a 10-5 spurt.

Knox shot 58 percent from the floor on 33 of 57 shooting. The Lady Panthers connected on nine 3’s while committing 17 turnovers.

The Lady Bears were 18 of 44 on the night for 41 percent. HC hit 18 of 25 free throws but committed 16 turnovers.

“They’ve got a good squad,” said Warren of Harlan County. “They play physical. They’ve got some skilled players, and coach Nolan does a great job.”

Knox Central (1-0) will host Harlan on Monday, Owsley County on Thursday, and Bell County on Saturday.

Harlan County visits Clay County on Saturday in a 4:30 p.m. game.

The Lady Bears will welcome Barbourville on Monday before traveling to Whitley County on Tuesday.

Aubrey Jones scored 12 points as Knox Central rolled to a 39-16 victory in the junior varsity game.

Cheyenne Rhymer led the Lady Bears with seven points. Maddi Middleton tallied three points. Whitley Teague and Jaylee Cochran scored two each, while Alley Stewart and Kylee Runions had one apiece.