After closing the month of January on a five-game winning streak, the Lady Lions have opened up the month of February at 1-1. Pineville fell on the road to Knox Central Friday night, 77-65.

“Knox Central shot the ball extremely well,” said Pineville coach Jamie Mills. “We got down by as many as 15 at one point and fought our way back, but it wasn’t enough.”

Knox Central came out hot on offense in the first half, totaling 24 points in the first quarter, and 25 points in the second. Pineville’s offense had a hard time getting going, especially in the first quarter, totaling only 13 points in the opening period. Eleven of those points were scored by Raigan King.

King led Pineville with 30 points against the Lady Panthers, followed by Whitney Caldwell with 19. Knox Central was led in scoring by Caylan Mills with 24 and Presley Partin with 20.

After falling behind to Knox Central 49-36 at halftime, the Lady Lions fought their way back in the third quarter. Holding Knox Central to a game-low 9 points, Pineville outscored the Lady Panthers 19-9 to bring the game to 58-55 in Knox Central’s favor at the end of the third quarter.

Heading into the final quarter, the Pineville offense had a hard time finding balance, with only Caldwell and King in the scorer’s column. Able to contain the Lady Lion offense, the Lady Panthers outscored Pineville 19-10 in the final quarter to post a 77-65 victory.

“We fought back to within three points heading into the final quarter and just got away from our offense,” said Mills. “That was the difference in the game.”

The Lady Lions take on Middlesboro on Tuesday, in Pineville, at 6 p.m. Knox Central takes on Clay County on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

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Pineville (14-9) (65) — Raigan King 30, Whitney Caldwell 19, Virginia Hall 9, Summer Partin 5, Alyssa Edmonson 2.

Knox Central (9-10) (77) — Caylan Mills 24, Presley Partin 20, Emily Davis 10, Zoey Liford 10, Ryleigh Swafford 8, Timberly Fredrick 3, Emily Mills 2.