Owsley County and Knox Central battled for 32 minutes in a rugged back and forth game in the opening round for both teams in the WYMT Mountain Classic at Knott Central, and when the final horn sounded the Lady Panthers claimed a 60-58 victory.
Owsley’s Addison Terry drove the lane for the tying basket in the closing seconds but her floater strict the front of the rim and bounced back as the game ended.
Knox had a 17-10 lead after the first quarter and led 27-23 at the half. Star player Halle Collins, a junior, was a thorn in the Lady Owls’ side all game, making shots off short jumpers, rebound put backs and getting to the line. She finished the game with 30, which was close to her average last season. The Lady Owls veteran guard Carly Smith hit for 27 points. She propelled her team to a 42-37 lead at the end of the third quarter. But a few turnovers too many allowed Knox to cut into the lead and finally overtake the Lady Owls and go on to win the game.
Besides Smith’s 27 points, 5 assists and 6 steals Owsley also had 12 points from Laya Lynch, 10 points and 7 rebounds from Addie Terry, 8 points for Macey Brown, and 2 for Shelby Murray. Murray was team high in rebounds for Owsley with 10.
Halle Collins’ 30 points was tops for Knox and she had a double-double with rebounds. She sprained her ankle in the 4th quarter and limped through the final minutes. However she was unable to play in the semifinals against North Laurel two days later due to the ankle injury, a game Knox lost by 10 points to the Lady Jaguars.
Other scoring for Knox were Timberly Frederick with 12, Makenzie Hensley 9, Jaylynn Fain 1, Sydney Hurst 5, and Hannah Melton 3.