Down 14 points at the half, Ironton battled back the second half only to see its rally fall short in a 54-47 loss to the Portsmouth Lady Trojans.

Friday, January 14, 2000

Down 14 points at the half, Ironton battled back the second half only to see its rally fall short in a 54-47 loss to the Portsmouth Lady Trojans.

"We knew we would have our hands full trying to defend Jessica Wood and Courtney Clifford, but we defended them well," Ironton coach Kevin Richardson said.

"Candace Ferguson defended Wood well on the block and Sarah Herman limited Clifford to four field goals. We just got too far behind, but the girls wouldn’t quit."

Clifford finished with 16 points and Wood nine, but it was Larika McGinnis who had a game-high 20 points that did in Ironton.

Ashley Hannon and Rachel McClellan scored 10 points each to pace Ironton (2-6). Leading scorer Jessica Ensor, who has been out with a bad back, did not play the first half but still managed nine points, six rebounds and five steals in limited play.

Herman grabbed nine rebounds, and Carly Isaac had six assists and eight steals.

Portsmouth went up 17-12 the first quarter. Hannon hit a pair of 3-pointers, Courtney Doughman made two shots, and McClellan’s long jumper from the corner kept Ironton close.

But the Lady Trojans outscored Ironton 13-4 the second quarter to lead 30-16.

Ironton made it 38-25 after three quarters and outscored Portsmouth 22-16 the final stanza, but the rally fell short.

"The two girls who have stepped up since Ensor went down are Isaac and McClellan," Richardson said. "Carly has played tremendous and Rachel is looking to shoot."

Ironton plays at Portsmouth Notre Dame Wednesday.

IRONTON – 12 4 9 22 – 47: Ashley Hannon 2 2 0-0 10, Rachel McClellan 2 1 3-6 10, Jessica Ensor 4 0 1-2 9, Isaac 2 0 2-3 6, Sarah Herman 1 0 3-4 5, Courtney Doughman 2 0 0-0 4, Candace Ferguson 0 0 3-6 3, Rachel Wylie 0 0 0-0 0, Christina Norris 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 13 3 12-21 47. Fouls: 15. Fouled out: None. Rebounds: 28 (Herman 9, Ferguson 8, Ensor 6). Steals: 10 (Ensor 5, Hannon 3, McClellan 2). Assists: 6 (Isaac 6).

PORTSMOUTH – 17 13 8 16 – 54: Larika McGinnis 9 0 2-5 20, Courtney Clifford 4 0 8-8 16, Jessica Wood 3 0 3-3 9, Kendra Hall 2 0 0-0 4, Michelle Horner 1 0 0-0 2, Courtney McGinnis 1 0 0-0 2, Amanda Mingus 0 0 1-2 1. Totals: 19 0 14-18 54. Fouls: 19. Fouled out: None.