A measure of revenge

Dean scores 24 as South Laurel downs Harlan Co., 56-49

By Denis House

In a rematch of last year’s 13th Region semifinal game, the South Laurel Lady Cardinals used two big runs to defeat visiting Harlan Co., 56-49 Friday night. It was the Lady Black Bears who knocked South out of the region tournament last year.

That’s two straight wins to open the season for South Laurel, both coming against semifinal teams from last year’s tournament. The Lady Cards beat Middlesboro on Dec. 1 in their opening game. While getting some revenge on Harlan Co., coach Konnie Snyder is taking the win in stride.

“It’s a game early in the season, nothing else,” Snyder said. And while that might be true, it still doesn’t discount the message these wins send the rest of the 13th Region.

The game was both brilliant and sloppy, depending on which quarter you watched. It was also a game of runs, as South used a 13-5 run to end the first quarter with a 22-15 lead before watching Harlan Co. comeback in the second quarter, thanks to a 14-5 run, to capture a 32-30 halftime lead.

But it was a 10-0 run to end the third quarter that allowed the Lady Cardinals to regain the lead at 46-41, and they held on from there for the win.

“We struggled offensively and defensively tonight,” Snyder said. “In the second quarter, we stood around. We just never got into sync all game long. We didn’t move well or pass well. At times it looked like we were standing in glue.”

Another concern for Snyder were turnovers, as South Laurel committed 23, while Harlan Co. had 19. “I don’t think either team is happy with the way they played,” Snyder said. “We were both turnover prone.”

It was senior Jessica Dean that provided the spark for South Laurel on this night. Active on both offense and defense, she scored from inside and out, and had several key steals. On the game, she finished with 24 points to lead all scorers, and the only Lady Cardinal in double digits.

“Jessica played awfully well,” Snyder said. “She logged a lot of minutes because she was playing so well, and she took over the point when Tish (Walker) got into foul trouble.”

After Harlan Co. (0-2) scored the opening basket, it was all South Laurel (2-0) for the rest of the first quarter, as the Lady Cards held a 22-15 lead after one, thanks to their 13-5 run which included 6-for-6 from the free throw stripe and a three by Dean.

Another Dean three, this time at the 6:03 mark, pushed the lead to 25-18 before Harlan Co. came back with a 14-5 run that gave them a 32-30 halftime lead. During the run, the Lady Black Bears continued to go inside to Heather Maggard, who had nine of her team-high 19 points. Her big body caused the Lady Cardinals some problems inside.

“We got into a little foul trouble, and that allowed Maggard to get some buckets,” Snyder said.

A Dean steal and basket to open the third quarter tied the game at 32-32, but Harlan Co. continued to feed the ball inside to Maggard, and Kendra Russell and Lyndsey Smith hit jumpers from the outside to push the lead to 41-36 with 2:30 left.

The Lady Cards then reeled off 10 straight points to end the quarter to turn a five-point deficit into a five-point advantage, 46-41. Dean and Walker both had buckets during the run, and South Laurel was 6-for-9 from the free throw line.

“We needed to create some turnovers, and we did that in the third quarter,” Snyder said. “That was the difference in the game.”

A three from Andi House with 6:15 left in the game pushed the lead to 10, 51-41, before Russell answered with a three of her own, followed by a Whitney Gilliam basket, to cut the lead back down to five, 51-46, at the 5:10 mark. Harlan Co. would pull even closer when Kalee Carroll hit one-of-two free throws at the 3:40 mark to cut the lead to three, 52-49. But that would be as close as the Lady Black Bears would come. Poor free throw shooting in the fourth quarter hurt Harlan Co., hitting only 3-of-10 and missing the front end of a one-and-one twice.

South Laurel will now travel to Whitley Co. Tuesday for a boy-girl doubleheader.

Denis House can be reached at sports@sentinel-echo.com



South Laurel 56, Harlan Co. 49

Harlan Co. 15 17 9 8—49

South Laurel 22 8 16 10—56

HARLAN CO. (49)—Smith 2, Gilliam 9, Carroll 4, York 2, Russell 10, Parker 3, Maggard 19.

SOUTH LAUREL (56)—Walker 8, Dean 24, Burchett 3, Johnson 6, Anders 2, House 6, Clontz 8.

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