[Harlan County Bears]

Lady Bears' defense the difference in district showdown against Bell
By JOHN HENSON
Harlan County Sports.com
A Bell County offense that had averaged over 70 points a game in a 7-0 start this season was put under wraps Monday in a district showdown at Harlan County.
The Lady Cats shot an ice cold 22 percent (12 of 54) as Harlan County (8-0) raced to a big lead early and then pulled away again late for a 50-33 victory.
"We wanted to make them have to take contested jump shots. We wanted to be the aggressive team and cut off the penetration," Harlan County coach Anthony Nolan said. "They are excellent shooters. We wanted to make them put the ball on the floor. They like to have their feet set. They missed some shots they would normally make, but our defense was pretty solid tonight.
Bell County (8-1) came into the game with perhaps the region's best backcourt, but all three starters struggled to find a comfort zone against the Lady Bears' 2-3 zone. All-state sophomore Maci Morris hit only four of 16 shots but still led the Lady Cats with 10 points. Jessica Sanders connected on two of nine shots while Morgan Garnett hit only one of 10.
The trio was a combined one-for-nine in the first quarter as Harlan County scored the game's first 10 points and rolled to a 22-3 advantage by the end of the period. Bell could get no closer than 10 the rest of the night.
Harlan County's guards had remarkably similar nights as juniors Kaitlyn Stittums and Lauren Lee each hit five of 11 shots to finish with 14 points apiece. Freshman standout Brooklyn Massingill overcame a slow start of her own to finish with 10 points.
"They work hard in shooting practice every day," Nolan said. "Lauren has come so far defensively. Kate has been a good floor leader in practice and tonight it showed in the game."
The game was a rematch of last year's district championship games won by the Lady Bears. The two teams were both unbeaten coming into the game and ranked just behind regional favorites Whitley County and Clay County.
"We look at this as the first battle," Nolan said. "We'll see them again in a month, and then maybe again a month after that. This isn't the war, and I said that before we left the locker room tonight. But this is a big win. I think there were a lot of doubters with this team. People weren't sure if some of our girls were ready to step into different roles, and they are slowly getter there. We still have a lot to work on."
Stittums and Lee each hit 3-pointers in the Lady Bears' blazing start. Bell County missed its first nine shots from the field before Garnett hit a jumper with 1:12 left, but by that point the Harlan County lead had grown to 15-3.
Two baskets by Stittums sandwiched around a three-point play by Sarah Evans gave the Lady Bears a 19-point advantage after one quarter.
Five straight points by Massingill pushed Harlan County's lead to 29-8 with 4:53 left in the second quarter, but the Lady Bears didn't have another field goal in the half as Bell's halfcourt trap started to cause problems, leading to eight turnovers in the period. Jessica Sanders and Katrina Johnson each had treys in a 10-0 run before two free throws by Evans to close the half extended Harlan County's lead back to 13, at 31-18.
The Lady Bears hit only one of 11 shots in the third quarter, missing their first eight before Lee connected on a jumper. Morris had three of her four baskets in the period as Bell closed to within 10 heading into the fourth quarter.
"I thought we missed some easy shots under the basket, when we could have stretched it on out, but we'll work on that in practice," Nolan said.
After missing all but one shot from the field in the third quarter, the Lady Bears had three quick baskets in the fourth to push their lead to 41-25 with 5:50 to play. Lee had two baskets and Evans added one in the spurt. Massingill hit two 3-pointers and Lee added one as HCHS led by as many as 20 down the stretch. Bell hit only three of 13 shots in both the third and fourth quarters.
Harlan County returns to action Thursday against Belfry in the Smokey Mountain Classic Christmas Tournament at Gatlinburg, Tenn.
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BELL COUNTY (8-1)
Jessica Sanders 2-9 0-0 6, Maci Morris 4-16 2-2 10, Morgan Garnett 1-10 0-0 2, Kelli Smith 1-9 1-2 4, Paige Robbins 0-1 0-0 0, Katrina Johnson 3-5 0-1 7, Jamie Boatright 1-2 0-0 2, Sarah Collins 0-1 1-2 1, Allison Howard 0-0 0-0 0, Kaitlyn Taylor 0-0 0-0 0, Courtney Cinnamon 0-1 1-2 1. Totals: 12-54 5-9 33.
HARLAN COUNTY (8-0)
Kaitlyn Stittums 5-11 3-4 14, Lauren Lee 5-11 2-2 14, Brooklyn Massingill 4-10 0-0 11, Keisha Mimes 0-6 0-0 0, Sarah Evans 3-6 3-3 9, Bella Noe 1-2 0-0 2, Madison Cornett 0-2 0-0 0, Shauntae Lewis 0-1 0-0 0, Becky Freeman 0-0 0-0 0, Lindsay Branson 0-1 0-0 0, Lauren Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Bridgette Bennett 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 18-51 8-9 50.
Bell County 3 15 7 8 — 33
Harlan County 22 9 4 15 — 50
3-point goals: Bell County 4-24 (Sanders 2-6, Johnson 1-3, Smith 1-5, Boatright 0-1, Garnett 0-4, Morris 0-5), Harlan County 6-15 (Massingill 3-5, Lee 2-6, Stittums 1-2, Lewis 0-1, Branson 0-1). Rebounds: Bell County 25 (Smith 7, Johnson 6, Collins 5, Morris 3, Garnett 1, Boatright 1, Howard 1, Cinnamon 1), Harlan County 41 (Evans 11, Stittums 9, Cornett 6, Mimes 5, Lee 4, Noe 4, Massingill 1, Branson 1). Turnovers: Bell County 10, Harlan County 15. Fouled out: None.