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BY PAUL LUNSFORD

Contributing Writer

The Harlan County Lady Bears used a 27-12 third-quarter run Thursday to defeat Hazard 76-60.

Junior guard Ella Karst fired in 24 points, and senior forward Jaylin Smith scored 20 and had nine rebounds. Taytum Griffin followed with 12. Paige Phillips added six, while Hailey Austin had five.

HC also got four points from Faith Hoskins and three by Kylie Jones. Taylor Lunsford added two points and grabbed eight boards.

The Lady Bears were 10 of 20 from behind the arc. Karst hit five 3-pointers, while Griffin nailed three. Jones and Austin each had one.

Senior guard Abby Maggard led the 7-6 Lady Bulldogs with 25 points, including three 3-pointers. She also had five rebounds. Eighth-grade forward Laura Everidge added 15 points and eight rebounds. Autumn Ramey scored seven.

Karst tossed in seven points, and Smith added six as Harlan County took a 15-14 edge after one quarter.

Three 3-pointers by Karst in the second quarter pushed the lead to 34-25 at the half.

“We were flat defensively the first half,” said Harlan County coach Anthony Nolan. We had an attitude adjustment at halftime.”

Smith scored nine. Griffin added seven, and Karst had five in the third quarter for HCHS as the lead swelled to 61-47 at the end of the period.

“The second half, we were aggressive like we should always be, which led to the huge run on offense,” said Nolan. “Goodwin in a tough place to play.”

Harlan County hit 26 of 56 from the field for 46 percent. The Lady Bears were 14-19 from the free-throw line.

Hazard shot 37 percent from the floor (22 of 59) and missed 10 of 18 free throws.

The Lady Bears outrebounded Hazard 35-23

Harlan County (11-4) played at Lynn Camp on Monday. The Lady Bears will travel to Middlesboro on Friday and Bell County on Tuesday for district doubleheaders.

The 7-6 Lady Bulldogs will play in the 14th Region All “A” Classic this week.

South tops HCHS

Behind three eighth-graders, the South Laurel Lady Cardinals carried the team to a 78-59 win at Harlan County on Tuesday.

Peyton Mabe scored 23, Shelbie Mills had 20 points, and Maci Messer added 15 points for the Lady Cardinals.

South Laurel got nine points each from Kenlea Murray and Emily Cox. Aubrey Bundy tossed in two.

South Laurel rebounded the Lady Bears 38-31. Cox pulled down 13 boards for the Lady Cardinals.

Karst scored 17 points, and Smith added 14 for the Lady Bears. Austin contributed 11, while Griffin had six. Lunsford added five points and eight rebounds. Jones chipped in with four points, and Hoskins scored two.

The Lady Cardinals hit six 3-pointers in the opening quarter to take a 26-13 advantage.

The Lady Bears fought back to tie the game at 31-31 before South Laurel took a 46-37 lead at halftime.

Mabe hit three of three shots in the third quarter as the Lady Cards outscored Harlan County 19-12 to take a 65-49 lead into the final period.

South Laurel held a 13-10 scoring run in the fourth quarter to win.

The Lady Cardinals improved to 9-7 on the season.