MIDDLESBORO — Unfortunately for Harlan, the Middlesboro Lady Jackets didn’t let their upcoming game against the defending All “A” Classic state champions keep them from focusing on the task at hand Monday.

The undersized Lady Jackets dominated the glass for much of the game and used a strong shooting performance by Sophie Robinson to roll over the visiting Lady Dragons 76-47 in the first game of a girls/boys district doubleheader.

The Lady Jackets took control with a 12-1 run late in the first quarter and never looked back in their final contest before opening All “A” Classic play Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. against Lexington Christian.

Harlan coach Chuck Mitchell tinkered with his lineup in an effort to offset the Lady Jackets’ speedy five-guard attack. The move had an unintended consequence, however, as the Lady Jackets held their own on the glass until midway through the third quarter, repeatedly denying the Lady Dragons second scoring opportunities.

“They’re so fast — we tried to start four guards, with Chassidy (Lawson) tonight. For the most part, we did OK, but when you do that you lose a little on the glass,” Mitchell said.

“They were outhustling us on the rebounds. They were getting the long rebounds and the rebounds under the basket,” Mitchell said.

“I thought we did a real nice job of being patient and running our man-to-man offense and attacking the basket,” Middlesboro coach Elgie Green said.

The Lady Dragons grabbed the momentum early by working the ball inside to Chassidy Lawson. The senior forward took Harlan’s first four shots, hitting three as the Lady Dragons jumped out to an 8-3 lead with 5:28 left in the first quarter.

Middlesboro (13-7 overall, 3-1 district) answered with baskets by Samantha Coleman and Shaleesha Coleman, and Robinson knocked down a 3-pointer at the 4:19 mark to put the Lady Jackets ahead. Lawson scored on a putback to tie the game at 10-10, but Robinson nailed another 3 — her third of the period — to give Middlesboro the lead for good.

The senior point guard finished with a game-high 24 points on 6-for-12 shooting, including a 4-for-9 effort from beyond the arc.

“Sophie was on,” Green said. “When you’ve got a kid who can come out and hit the open jumpers, the other kids get involved. When they tighten up on her, we’ve got other shooters. I thought overall, we did a really good job of passing the ball.”

Samantha Coleman scored six points and Robinson added four more in the Lady Jackets’ outburst to close the period. Middlesboro led 22-14 going into the second quarter.

Shaleesha Coleman opened the scoring in the second period with four points in a four-second span as she scored on a layup, stole the inbounds pass, drew a foul and hit both free throws to give the Lady Jackets a 12-point lead with 6:43 left in the half.

Middlesboro’s lead grew to 32-16 after Robinson scored four straight points midway through the period. A 3-pointer by Alex Allison and a basket by Lawson pulled the Lady Dragons within 11, but the Lady Jackets closed the half with seven unanswered points to take a 39-21 lead into the locker room.

Harlan (11-6, 2-4) made a run after regaining its intensity on the offensive glass late in the third quarter. After Robinson hit four of five three throws — three for being fouled on a 3-pointer and two more after Mitchell was assessed a technical foul — the Lady Dragons reeled off nine straight points, including seven by freshman guard Miranda Davenport, to cut their deficit to 51-34 at the end of the period.

Any hopes of a comeback quickly evaporated as Middlesboro opened the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run. The Lady Jackets shot six free throws in a three-second span as Shaleesha Coleman rebounded Robinson’s miss and drew a foul, then her sister followed suit when she missed her second attempt. Carissa Overbay capped the run with a 3-pointer from the corner.

Harlan was hampered throughout the game with poor shooting around the basket, repeatedly missing shots from point-blank range. The Lady Dragons shot just 27 percent (16-for-59) from the field.

“(Tennessee) coach (Pat) Summitt told Candace Parker two years ago in a clinic after she missed a wide-open layup — she stopped the clinic in front of 500 coaches and said, ‘I can’t get you any closer than that — I don’t care if you are an All-American,’ Mitchell said. “That’s what we tell our kids: ‘If we get you in there, you’ve got to finish.’”

Lawson led the Lady Dragons with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Davenport added 11 points.

Senior guard Belinda Patton did not play after spraining her ankle in Saturday’s win over Pineville. Mitchell said he expects her to be back in time for the Lady Dragons’ next game, set for Feb. 3 at Leslie County.

With the loss, the Lady Dragons are locked into the third seed in the 52nd District Tournament. Middlesboro needs a win at Harlan County on Monday to force a tie for the top seed.

“That’ll be a huge game, a very important game for us,” Green said. “It’s probably the difference between a first and second seed. We’ll get this All ‘A’ Classic out of the way, then we’ll come back and concentrate on the district.”