Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

PEDRO — How hard was it to make a basket? In the words of Elton John, “It’s like trying to find gold in a silver mine.”

Neither the South Point Lady Pointers or Ironton Lady Fighting Tigers seemed to be able to find the basket, but the Lady Pointers managed to do other things as they slipped past the Lady Tigers 37-29 Saturday in the Division III sectional finals.

South Point was only 10-of-39 from the field for the game, 4-of-20 in the first half and 6-of-30 through the three quarters.

Ironton was 11-of-45 for the game including 4-of-22 in the first half and 6-of-31 through three quarters.

“At halftime there were no adjustments to make, just make shots. We finally made a few in the second half,” said South Point coach Dave Adams.

“We handled their pressure. That was the key. We wanted to stop Barrier and handle the pressure.”

Ironton’s Lexie Barrier had 16 points and nine rebounds but faced double and triple teams each time she got the ball.

Abbey Winkler scored 12 points and Brett Justice had 10 points and seven rebounds for the Lady Pointers (19-4). The duo combined to make 15-of-20 free throws as the Lady Pointers were 15-of-27 at the line compared to 4-of-9 for Ironton.

“We didn’t make shots. Those are shots we’ve hit all year. You can’t have a bad game in the tournament,” said Ironton coach Doug Graham.

Ironton (9-13) led 5-4 at the end of the first quarter but didn’t lead against until a putback by Karlie Rase gave the Lady Tigers a 20-19 lead with 6:36 to play.

South Point led 12-10 at the half. The Lady Pointers’ biggest lead was four points on two occasions.

The Lady Pointers were up 18-13 in the third quarter after a layup by Bonnie Hileman, but Barrier’s trifecta made it 18-16. Hileman’s free throw gave South Point a 19-16 lead at the end of the quarter.

After Ironton took the 20-19 lead, a technical foul led to a free throw by Winkler and then she made a layup on the inbounds play for a 22-20 lead.

Brooklyn Badgett had a steal and layup for a 24-20 lead and her 3-pointer at the 5:06 mark opened up a 27-20 lead.

“The steal and the 3 by Badgett were big,” said Adams.

A 15-footer by Barrier ended South Point’s 10-0 run and her layup with 2:25 left cut the deficit to 29-26.

But Winkler and Justice each made two foul shots over the final 33 seconds to prevent any Ironton comeback.

South Point plays at 8 p.m. Thursday in the district tournament at the Waverly downtown arena.

Ironton 5 5 6 13 = 29

South Point 4 8 7 18 = 37

IRONTON (9-13): Jordan Hannan 1 1 0-0 5, Taylor Hannan 1 0 0-0 2, Lexie Barrier 3 2 4-6 16, Macy Wise 0 0 0-1 0, Cheyenne Scott 0 0 0-0 0, Karlie Rase 2 0 0-0 4, ALyssas Lewis 1 0 0-2 2. Totals: 11-45 4-9 29. 3-point goals: 3-15. Rebounds: 13-O, 23-D = 36 (Barrier 9, Rase 6, Wise 5). Team/deadball rebounds: 8. Assists: 2. Steals: 7 (Scott 2, J. Hannan 2). Turnovers: 12. Fouls: 19. Fouled out: J. Hannan (4th 1:04), Scott (4th 0:11).

SOUTH POINT (19-4): Haley Rawlins 0 0 2-4 2, Brooklyn Badgett 1 1 0-0 5, Brett Justice 2 0 6-9 10, Abbey Winkler 3 0 6-10 12, Aundrea Bradburn 1 0 0-2 2, Brianna Bacon 0 0 0-0 0, Bonnie Hileman 2 0 1-2 5. Totals: 10-39 15-27 37. 3-point goals: 1-11. Rebounds: 12-O, 20-D = 32 (Justice 7, Bradburn 6). Teamd/deadball rebounds: 8. Assists: 3. Steals: 4 (Bradburn 2). Turnovers: 10. Fouls: 10. Fouled out: None.