Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

If Ironton Lady Fighting Tigers’ coach Doug Graham was asked to name the player of the game, he probably would have said it was virtually impossible.

A total team effort and a strong defense held Ironton beat the Rock Hill Redwomen 76-34 on Thursday in an Ohio Valley Conference game.

“That’s the second game in a row everyone played well. The girls really guarded well,” said Graham.

“The girls really practiced hard this week and they really practiced well. It showed. All the girls contributed.”

Lexie Barrier played well again with 20 points, six rebounds, six steals and four blocked shots for Ironton (3-0, 3-0).

Taylor Hannan had 11 points and four assists, Alyssa Lewis scored 11 points, Lexi Wise had nine rebounds and four blocked shots, and Sydney Webb and Jordan Hannan got eight points and three assists each.

Rock Hill (2-2, 1-1) was led by Kaci Russell with 18 points. Anna Darby grabbed eight rebounds and Samantha Dillon had five rebounds.

The defense made its mark by forcing 21 turnovers — 15 in the first half — and holding the Redwomen to 25.5 percent shooting.

Ironton jumped in front 5-1 before Russell hit a 3-pointer to get Rock Hill within 5-4 with 6:58 left in the first quarter.

But a trey by Taylor Hannan and a layup and triple by Webb quickly made it 13-4.

By the time the run ended, Ironton led 20-4 with 3:38 to go in the quarter.

Lewis scored four points to make it 24-6. Layups by Russell and Dillon made it 24-10 at the end of the quarter.

Barrier had five steals and scored 11 points in the second quarter as Ironton forced nine turnovers and opened up a 44-16 halftime lead.

Both team struggled to score to begin the second half. Russell made a foul shot and Taylor Hannan hit a layup at the 5:14 mark to trigger a 15-7 run the rest of the quarter and it was 59-24.

“The only real blemish came at the start of the third quarter when we just didn’t play well. We were sluggish,” said Graham.

On Monday, Ironton hosts Chesapeake and Rock Hill visits Coal Grove in league games.

Rock Hill 10 6 8 10 = 34

Ironton 24 20 15 17 = 76

ROCK HILL (2-2, 1-1): Jill Hairston 2 0 0-0 4, Madi Damron 0 0 0-0 0, Anna Darby 1 0 1-3 3, Samantha Dillon 1 0 1-2 3, Kaci Russell 4 2 4-6 18, Patty Riffe 1 0 0-0 2, Kyleigh Noel 0 0 0-0 0, Abbi Kline 0 0 0-0 0, Caitlyn Meadows 2 0 0-0 4, Taylor Hall 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 13-51 6-11 34. 3-point goals: 2-9. Rebounds: 15-O, 19-D = 34 (Darby 8, Dillon 5, Russell 4). Team rebounds: 9. Assists: 3. Steals: 6 (Darby 2, Dillon 2). Turnovers: 21. Fouls: 10. Fouled out: None.

IRONTON (3-0, 3-0): Taylor Hannan 2 1 4-5 11, Lexie Barrier 9 0 2-4 20, Lexi Wise 2 0 2-2 6, Sydney Webb 1 2 0-0 8, Cheyenne Scott 2 0 0-0 4, Jordan Hannan 4 0 0-1 8, Alyssa Lewis 3 1 2-2 11, Zakie Lee 3 0 0-0 6, D’Laynie Keith 1 0 0-0 2, Kaylin Easterling 0 0 0-0 0, Kenzie Ashley 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 31-59 10-14 76. 3-point goals: 4-14. Rebounds: 12-O, 29-D = 41 (Wise 9, Barrier 6). Team rebounds: 3. Assists: 15 (T. Hannan 4, J. Hannan 3, Webb 3). Steals: 17 (Barrier 6). Blocked shots: 8 (Barrier 4, Wise 4). Turnovers: 12. Fouls: 13. Fouled out: None.