EARLY UPSET

Harlan’s Ashley Mullins alters the shot of Whitley County sophomore Brandi Smith without the foul being called. Smith got the last laugh after scoring 26 points to lead the Lady Colonels to a 60-46 upset of the region’s #3 team.

Sophomore guard Brandi Smith out dueled Harlan’s Ashley Mullins to lead the Whitley County Lady Colonels to a 60-46 win over the Lady Dragons at Lawson Gym Monday night.

The Harlan Lady Dragons came into the game preseason ranked third in the region with its veteran team. However, it was Whitley County that took the game over in the second quarter and eased in with the 14-point win.

“I thought it was a great team effort, Whitley County Coach Larry Anderson said. “Every kid gave what she could for the team tonight. Defense will be there every night and you will have off nights shooting the ball, but there should never be an off night defensively.”

And it was the defense that picked up the Lady Colonels in the second quarter. Whitley County trailed the Lady Dragons after the first eight minutes, 13-9, but Anderson went after the Lady Dragons defensively.

A full court press enabled the Lady Colonels to score 13 unanswered points with Smith scoring 11 of those points as Whitley County went from four points down to nine points ahead (22-13) in a matter of three minutes.

“We went into the white press when we were down four points and we got seven straight possessions and we got the lead,” Anderson said. “Once we got the lead it stayed that way. The press got the momentum turned around. We were having trouble scoring in the half-court set, once the press got things loosened up things got better.”

When Smith scored on a turnover off the press with 5:11 left in the period, Anderson took off the press and Harlan made a comeback. They were able to cut the lead to three (23-20) at the half. Free throws didn’t help the cause for the Lady Colonels, as Whitley County was one-of-four in the final four minutes, two of which were misses on the front-end of a bonus attempt.

Whitley County let Harlan hang around in the third quarter, but never let the Green Dragons take the lead. Ball cut the lead to one (23-22), but five straight points by Smith and Sierra Anderson pushed the Lady Colonels back on top, 28-22. Whitley County led by six heading into the final frame, 34-28.

Shawnee Holbrook killed any hopes of a Harlan comeback when she started the fourth quarter with a three-pointer from the top of the key. She followed that with a pair of free throws and the Lady Colonels had a 39-28 lead with 5:46 left in the game.

“That was a big 3-pointer,” Anderson said. “You could pick out individuals throughout the game that made big plays. I just thought it was a great team effort.”

Whitley County pushed the lead out to 19 points in the fourth quarter and was able to convert their free throws down the stretch. The Lady Colonels were 15-of-17 in the final period.

“I didn’t expect that margin,” Anderson said. “I think we have a really nice basketball team. We have good guards, some good players on the inside and some good perimeter shooters.”

Coming into the game Anderson was concerned how he would slow down Mullins.

Mullins, the preseason #1 player in the 13^th region was held in check, especially after the first quarter when she scored seven of her team’s first 13 points. “I thought Sabrina Sizemore did a tremendous job on Mullins,” Anderson said. “We didn’t take her out for 10-12 minutes. When she came out, we moved Kandace Craig over to her, and I think the size factor probably played a major factor in holding her down.”

Smith finished with 26 points while Anderson added 12 points to lead the Lady Colonels.

The Lady Colonels will be on the road Friday night when they take on the Lady Raiders of McCreary Central. They will play Knott County Central Saturday night in the Coach Wilson Classic at Leslie County at 7:30 p.m.

Whitley County returns home Tuesday to play South Laurel in their first district-seeded game of the season.

Whitley Co. 60, Harlan 46

Harlan                        13     7     8   18- 46

Whitley Co.              9   14   11   26- 60

   Harlan (46) – Mullins 21, Rehnborg 4, Ball 6, Ledford 2, Cox 4, Henson 6, Cochran 3.

   Whitley Co. (60) – Powers 2, Smith 26, Craig 6, Johnson 3, Anderson 12, Holbrook 7, Dingess 4.