Harrison Central earns third straight win behind balanced scoring

On Dec. 8 in Cadiz, Harrison Central’s Kelsey Powers, Shayla Nameth and Mik Pelegreen combined for 33 points — one point more than the total scored by visiting Beaver Local. Powers finished with 16 points, Nameth scored 10 and Pelegreen added 7. Powers and Pelegreen also grabbed five rebounds each. The 54-32 win marked the Lady Huskies’ third consecutive victory.

With the Huskies now firing on all cylinders, expectations continue to rise. Their 16-win campaign in the 2024-25 season could be surpassed if they continue their recent level of play.

“We have been talking about ‘how we respond’ as a theme this year, and the staff is extremely happy with how we have responded the last few games,” head coach Chace Smith said. “East Liverpool is always a difficult place to play. They were a very physical team, and our girls kept their heads and played through the pressure. We made plays when we needed to and escaped with a great win.”

Smith praised the team’s depth and unselfish play.

“Everyone has a role, and at times they are called on in different ways in different matchups,” he said. “We had a lot of girls who came off the bench and were ready to go when they were called on. We had a very balanced scoring attack, which speaks to the nature of our team.

“The past two games we have started to learn to make the extra pass, the easy pass, and to be unselfish with the ball. We are also improving in taking open shots, playing pressure defense, and we are getting easy points from great ball movement.”

That ball movement showed against Beaver Local. Harrison scored 7 points in the opening quarter, 13 in the second and then 16 points in both the third and fourth periods.

Kara Blackburn added 5 points, Ella Smith scored 4, Bailey Smith had 3, and Ady Stull and Zoe Whipkey each scored 2. Ava Conley added 1 point.

Three-pointers were made by Nameth (2), and Blackburn, Powers and Bailey Smith (one each).