No one in the 13th Region lost more talent since last season than the Harlan County Lady Bears, but Bell County coach David Teague had no problem picking a favorite in this year’s 52nd District race.

“They have a lot of experience. Their kids have played in a lot of big games,” Teague said after his Lady Cats fell 70-42 on Tuesday at Harlan County. “It’s good for us to play against a veteran team like that. I thought we did some good things. We were in the game and they made a run late in the first half, and we could never recover.”

Harlan County (3-0) showed good ball movement and unselfishness most of the night as four reached double figures, led by guard K.K. Johnson and center Breann Turner with 16 points each. Phebe McHargue and Morgan Blakley added 13 and 11 points, respectively.

Freshman guard Ashton Myers scored 14 and junior guard Abby Harris added 12 for the 3-2 Lady Cats.

Johnson, McHargue and Turner each had two baskets in the opening quarter as the Lady Bears built a 15-9 lead, closing the period with a 7-3 run after Bell had pulled within two on a basket by Harris.

The Lady Bears began to pull away in the second quarter, hitting six of their first seven shots to build a double-digit advantage midway through the period. Turner had three baskets in the quarter as the HCHS guards did a good job of pushing the ball inside. Johnson and McHargue added two baskets each as the lead grew to 32-19 by halftime.

Harlan County hit its first five shots in the second half, using a 10-0 run to build a 42-19 lead. The Lady Bears hit 10 of 14 shots in the quarter, led by three baskets from Blakley, to extend their lead to 53-31.

Harlan County will travel to Harlan for a girls/boys district doubleheader on Friday. Bell County will play host to Cumberland Gap, Tenn., on Friday.

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Harlan County 70, Bell County 42

BELL COUNTY (3-2)

Abby Harris 4-13 4-4 12, Abby Cornett 0-3 0-0 0, Ashton Myers 5-11 1-1 14, Ashley Middleton 3-5 0-0 6, Brea Browning 1-4 0-1 2, Sarah Kidwell 1-6 1-2 4, McKenzie Griffin 1-1 0-0 2, Lenia Miracle 0-1 0-2 0, Mary Kate Smith 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 16-45 6-11 42.

HARLAN COUNTY (3-0)

Phebe McHargue 6-10 0-0 13, K.K. Johnson 7-15 1-2 16, Reanna Middleton 2-6 1-2 5, Morgan Blakley 5-6 1-1 11, Breann Turner 8-12 0-0 16, Hannah Wood 1-2 0-0 3, Kassy Owens 0-0 0-0 0, Jacey Lewis 0-0 0-0 0, Kelly Beth Hoskins 0-0 0-0 0, Jaylin Smith 2-3 0-0 4, Jaylin Preston 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 32-55 3-5 70.

Bell County 9 10 12 11 — 42

Harlan County 15 17 21 17 — 70

3-point goals: Bell County 4-11 (Myers 3-6, Kidwell 1-2, Harris 0-1, Cornett 0-2, Harlan County 3-15 (Wood 1-2, Johnson 1-4, McHargue 1-5, Middleton 0-4). Rebounds: Bell County 20 (Middleton 5, Browning 4, Kidwell 3, Griffin 3, Cornett 2, Myers 1, Harris 1, Smith 1), Harlan County 33 (Turner 12, Blakley 7, Middleton 4, McHargue 3, Johnson 3, Turner 2, Owens 1, Lewis 1). Turnovers: Bell County 23, Harlan County 19. Fouled out: None.