Basketball file
GAME 4: HARLAN VS. CLARK COUNTY, 8 P.M. WEDNESDAY
HARLAN
* Coach: Derrick Akal.
* Record: 27-8.
* Nickname: Green Dragons.
* Location: Harlan.
* Region: 13th.
* Enrollment: 221.
* Litkenhous Rating: 84.6.
* Sweet 16 trips: 4th (1-3).
* Last trip to State: 2016 (lost to Owensboro Catholic 66-49 in first round).
* What to look for: Despite returning to the state tournament, Harlan returns just two players — Jordan Brock and Mackenzie King — who played significant roles last season. Still, the Green Dragons advanced all the way to the finals of the All “A” Classic. Harlan lost to county-rival Harlan County three times during the season before turning the tables and breaking the Black Bears’ 25-game winning streak in the final of the 13th Region Tournament at Corbin. “We just played a lot better defense,” said Harlan coach Derrick Akal. “We did a good job of running them off the 3-point line.”
* Key player: The Green Dragons are led by Brock, a 5-foot-5 guard who averages 25.1 points. “She’s an excellent shooter,” Akal said of Brock, who has signed to play at Tennessee Tech. “She’s an outstanding ball handler and she’s a competitor. Jordan Brock is one of the best players in the state of Kentucky.” On the year, Brock has knocked down 127 3-pointers and she’s hitting better than 88 percent from the free-throw line. With a 25.1-point scoring average, she’s racking up nearly half of Harlan’s offense on the season.
* Coach-speak: “We’re not too worried about how good the other team is,” Akal said. “We’ll be all right if we take care of what we need to do.”
STARTERS
00-Jordan Brock
5-5, Sr., 25.1 ppg, 1.9 rpg
31-Mackenzie King
5-10, Jr., 13.3 ppg, 2.6 rpg
3-Noah Canady
5-7, Jr., 6.3 ppg, 1.3 rpg
22-Taylor Simpson
5-6, Jr., 5.3 ppg, 2.1 rpg
23-Brandi Haywood
5-10, Jr., 2.9 ppg, 2.1 rpg
KEY RESERVE
5-Payeton Charles
5-0, So., 1.9 ppg, 0.3 rpg
CLARK COUNTY
* Coach: Robbie Graham
* Record: 29-4.
* Nickname: Cardinals.
* Location: Winchester.
* Region: 10th.
* Enrollment: 1,586.
* Litkenhous Rating: 100.8 (No. 16 in state).
* Sweet 16 trips: 11th (15-10).
* Last trip to State: 2014 (lost to Elizabethtown 71-56 in semifinals).
* What to look for: The Cardinals — led by 6-foot-3 Elizabeth Hardiman in the middle — enjoy a considerable height edge on the Green Dragons. Hardiman will play volleyball at Transylvania next year. On the season, Clark County grabbed more than 400 more rebounds than Harlan. “We want to work the ball inside to Hardiman,” said Clark County coach Robbie Graham, whose team brings a 10-game winning streak to Northern Kentucky University.
* Key player: Clark County’s 5-foot-7 Kennedy Igo, a freshman who already bears offers from Louisville, Kentucky, Western Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky, Butler and others, is one of the state’s top guards. “She’s really tough,” Graham said. “She has that toughness to her. She really wants to be great.”
* Coach-speak: “We expected to be successful,” Graham said. “We did it a little quicker than I expected (after starting 9-0). We had a really good start to the season. And, we’re finishing strong, too.”
STARTERS
23-Shemaya Behanan
5-9, Jr., 10.9 ppg, 7.2 rpg
12-Maleaha Bell
5-10, So., 8.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg
33-Elizabeth Hardiman
6-3, Sr., 7.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg
44-Hayley Harrison
5-10, So., 9.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg
11-Kennedy Igo
5-7, Fr., 12.6 ppg, 2.9 rpg
KEY RESERVES
4-Jasmine Flowers
5-8, So., 9.5 ppg, 2.7 rpg
5-Kylee Murray
5-9, Sr., 4.3 ppg, 1.9 rpg