WILLIAMSBURG — The Whitley County Lady Colonels continued their strong start to the season with a 75–55 victory over the Harlan Lady Green Dragons on Tuesday night.
The win improves Whitley County to 3-1 on the season, while Harlan falls to 1-4.
Whitley County set the tone early, knocking down four 3-pointers in the opening quarter to build a 23–15 lead after one. Jonna Rice scored six points in the first period, while Jaylee Cox added five as the Lady Colonels used balanced scoring and defensive pressure to gain control.
The Lady Colonels continued to extend the margin in the second quarter, taking a 36–22 advantage into halftime. Whitley maintained its momentum after the break, pushing the lead to 55–41 by the end of the third quarter, before closing out the contest in the fourth quarter.
Maddy Hopkins led Whitley County with 20 points, while Jaylee Cox finished with 17 points and Jonna Rice added 15 points. Harlan was led by Cheyanne Rhymer with 17 points, and Peyshaunce Wynn chipped in 13.
“We got another good win tonight,” Whitley County coach Ronnie Collier said. “We played extremely hard. I thought we defended and rebounded well at times. We definitely need to improve in many areas, but I love our team, and I feel like we’re getting better every week.
“We had many girls step up and have good games,” he added. “Jonna Rice had 15 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists. She also had to guard Wynn, and she did a great job holding her to 13 points. Jaylee Cox had her best game ever as a Colonel. She had 17 points and 5 rebounds. Maddy Hopkins had another great game with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Lydia Hale and Aubrey Fore competed hard on the defensive end, and each hit big shots to help extend our lead in the first half. Cristin Siler got career high in points in a varsity game with 8. We have another big test tomorrow as we travel out of district to play a good Danville Christian team. Go Colonels.”
