HARLAN — Sophomore Halle Collins came through big time for Knox Central, scoring 26 points to lead the Lady Panthers past Harlan County with an 81-60 win on Thursday.
Collins scored 12 points in the first half while adding 14 points in the second half during the 21-point victory. She also had 13 rebounds, eight assists, and five blocks.
Timberly Fredrick added a 15-point scoring effort for the Lady Panthers (1-0) while McKenzie Hensley finished with 13 points while Emily Mills scored 10 points.
Harlan County’s Ella Karst attempted to keep her team in the game, scoring nine of her team-high 23 points in the fourth quarter. Teammate Hailey Austin followed with 12 points while Taytum Griffin scored eight points.
Knox Central finished hitting 6-of-10 free throw attempts while the Lady Black Bears were 18-of-25.
Fredrick hit two 3-pointers in the first quarter while while Collins also added six points to give the Lady Panthers an 18-8 advantage heading into the second quarter.
Karst scored eight points in the second quarter while Griffin hit two 3-pointers to help the Lady Black Bears to cut their deficit to eight points (36-29) at halftime.
Knox Central began putting the game away in the second half as Fredrick hit her fourth and fifth 3-pointers of the game while Hensley scored seven points and Collins had five to push the Lady Panthers’ lead to 63-39 with eight minutes remaining in the game.
Karst tried to keep her team in the game with nine fourth-quarter points but nine points by Collins and six points by Mills sealed the win for Knox Central.
