Harlan County coach Anthony Nolan warned his Lady Bears in a practice session earlier this week what would happen if they didn’t do a great job of keeping standout 5-11 junior forward Halle Collins off the offensive glass in their season-opening game Tuesday.
Much like a year ago at HCHS, the Lady Bears were unable to block out the Knox star and she responded with a 30-point, 21-rebound explosion that was more than enough to send Knox to a 66-37 victory.
“We got into such a hole in the first quarter by taking quick shots, and Collins feeds off that,” Nolan said. “She uses her body so well with rebounds. I think we match up pretty well except for that spot, but that’s a difficult matchup. She uses her body as well as any girl I’ve seen in 10-12 years. She also has great hands and a soft touch.”
“She’s a tough matchup because she can pull you out on the floor and she has a knack around the basket. She uses her body really well for a girl her size,” Knox Central coach Steve Warren said.
Freshman guard McKenzie Hensley added 11 points for the Lady Panthers, while junior guard Timberly Frederick hit three 3-pointers in the second quarter to finish with nine points.
“Frederick hit some big shots in the second quarter. (Jaylynn) Fain also played well, and so did McKenzie Hensley at the point,” Warren said. “She also had the task of guarding (Ella) Karst, and that’s a tough job. She’s a fantastic player, but McKenzie gave her all she had.”
Karst, a senior guard, carried the HCHS offense with 24 points. She became the sixth girl in Harlan County history to score 2,000 points in her career with her 14th point to close the first half. She scored 513 points in two years at Harlan and now has approximately 1,500 in four years at Harlan County.
The Lady Bears shot only 22 percent (11 of 50) from the field with only Karst reaching double figures as they make the adjustment to the graduation of four starters.
“We’ll bounce back. We got punched in the mouth last year and bounced back,” Nolan said. “When you have a lot of new faces you have to learn how to play together against competition. Knox Central is tough, but they gave us a gauge for the rest of the season. This first week is brutal, but we’ll see where we’re at and what we have to do to get to where we need by the end of the season.”
Harlan County hit only one of 12 shots from the field in the first quarter as Knox scored the first 12 points and led 14-5 at the end of the period. The Lady Bears got as close as seven in the second quarter on a Karst 3 before Frederick and Collins took over in a 20-9 run to close the half that pushed the lead to 37-19 lead at the break. Knox outscored HC 19-9 in the third quarter with Collins hitting four of five shots and pulling down seven rebounds.
Harlan County returns to action Thursday at home against Leslie County in a game that was moved from Leslie to HCHS due to illness. Knox Central plays host to Hazard on Thursday.
Story by John Henson
