It was Senior Night for the Ironton Lady Fighting Tigers.

Friday, February 09, 2001

It was Senior Night for the Ironton Lady Fighting Tigers. And while Ironton hates to see their three seniors graduate, the opposition can’t wait.

Behind seniors Jessica Ensor and Sarah Herman, Ironton rolled past the Chesapeake Lady Panthers 58-39 Thursday at the Ironton Sports Center.

"It was a nice way to say ‘Thank you’ to Cheryl Hill, Sarah Herman, and Jessica Ensor," Ironton coach Kevin Richardson said. "Sarah has nearly 700 points and 500 rebounds, Jessica has 912 points and 600 rebounds. They’ve given a lot to this program for four years."

Ensor and Herman gave plenty in their final home game. Ensor had 20 points, 10 steals, and three assists while Herman scored 14 points and grabbed five rebounds.

Noelle Mains, a junior, helped the seniors out with a similar effort as she scored 13 points and handed out five assists.

The defense was a key in the win as Ironton (13-4) forced 24 turnovers.

"In the end we did it with teamwork defense," said Richardson.

Ensor knocked down seven points the first quarter as Ironton went ahead 14-8. Sutphin had six points to keep Chesapeake close.

Herman scored 10 points the second quarter as Ironton built a 32-20 cushion.

Chesapeake went on a 7-0 run to start the second half and cut the Ironton lead to four, but Mains scored 10 points and the Lady Tigers closed the quarter with 11 unanswered points to go ahead 46-31.

‘We wanted to take way the penetration and easy baskets. I’m proud of Candace Ferguson’s effort. She had a huge impact in the middle for us and had key rebounds," Richardson said.

Ashley Mayenchein was out with the flu and Kim Frye missed with a knee injury.

Chesapeake 8 12 11 8 – 39

Ironton 14 18 14 12 – 58

CHESAPEAKE (11-9): Erin Sutphin 5 0 5-6 15, Michelle Elkins 5 0 4-8 14, Michelle Christian 4 0 0-0 8, Amanda Bartoe 0 0 1-2 1, Megan Johnson 0 0 1-3 1, Jennifer Rice 0 0 0-2 0, Lisa Perry 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 14 0 11-21 39. Fouls: 13. Fouled out: None. Turnovers: 24.

IRONTON (13-4): Jessica Ensor 8 1 1-3 20, Sarah Herman 7 0 0-0 14, Noelle Mains 3 1 4-6 13, Ashley Hannon 1 1 0-1 5, Candace Ferguson 2 0 2-2 4, Courtney Doughman 1 0 0-0 2, Carly Isaac 0 0 0-0 0, Christina Norris 0 0 0-0 0, Cheryl Hill 0 0 0-0 0, Brittany Walker 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 21 3 7-12 58. Fouls: 13. Fouled out: None. Rebounds: 25 (Ferguson 8, Herman 5, Doughman 4, Hannon 4). Assists: 15 (Mains 5, Ensor 3, Herman 3). Steals: 20 (Ensor 10).