PEDRO - It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.

It was a Tale of Two Halves for the Ironton Lady Fighting Tigers who used a big second half to run away from the Rock Hill Redwomen 67-34 Monday.

Ironton led 15-10 at the end of the first quarter and 21-16 with 4:55 left in the first half. But the Lady Tigers pulled away to a 35-19 halftime lead and then kicked into high gear the second half to win their second game in as many tries this season.

"We started out real sluggish. I don't know if it was because it's so early in the season, that we're on the road or a combination of both," Ironton coach Amy Hughes said. "We did a better job the second half, but we still have to do a better job on defense. We're not playing as hard as we can. We don't have the intensity we need."

Ironton was led by Sara Hacker with 16 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and four steals. Mandi Boykin had 15 points, five rebounds and three steals while Andrea Rudmann added 14 points, three assists and three steals.

"We missed some shots we normally should make, but we had pretty good balance. I'm not worried about the offense right now. That will get better. My biggest concern is playing more aggressive defense," Hughes said.

The Redwomen struggled from the field as they lost their season opener. Rock Hill managed to make only 12 of 45 field goal attempts for 26.7 percent. They were just 8 of 35 the final three quarters.

Monica Bamer had 9 points and six rebounds while Marie Bamer got 8 points and seven rebounds to lead Rock Hill.

A layup by Keshia Rupp gave Rock Hill a 4-3 lead. It was 6-6 when Hacker drained a 3-pointer, then followed it with a layup for an 11-6 lead. Rudmann got a steal and layup and it was 13-6 with 2:05 left in the first quarter.

Marie Bamer hit a short jumper with 4:30 left in the half and it was 21-16. Ironton went on a 14-3 run to close the half with Hacker following up her own shot to beat the buzzer and make it 35-19.

Rudmann scored 6 points as Ironton went on an 11-0 run to start the second half to lead 46-19.

Marie Bamer's layup at the 5:51 mark stopped the run, but Ironton continued to pull away and it was 54-26 when Danielle Henderson nailed a 15-footer with 14 seconds on the clock.

On Thursday, Ironton plays at Fairland. Rock Hill travels to Portsmouth Dec. 13.

In the reserve game, Ironton won 37-15. Shawnte Lewis had 12 points, Tenielle Young 10 and Ciara Taylor 9.

Ironton15201913-67

Rock Hill10978-34

IRONTON (2-0):

Andrea Rudmann 7 0 0-1 14, Danielle Henderson 3 0 1-2 7, Sarah Cartmell 3 0 0-3

6, Mandi Boykin 4 1 4-6 15, Sara Hacker 5 1 3-7 16, Tenielle Young 4 0 0-0 8, Ciara Taylor 2 0 0-0 4,

Shawnte Lewis 0 0 0-0 0, Chelsea Cleary 0 0 0-0 0, Rachel Walker 0 0 0-0 0, Nikki Harbolt 0 0 0-0 0, Krista Markel 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 28-54

2-5

9-19

67. Fouls: 16. Fouled out: None. Rebounds: 14-21=35 (Hacker 10, Cartmell 6, Boykin 5). Deadball/team rebounds: 5. Assists: 10 (Hacker 5, Rudmann 3). Steals: 20 (Hacker 4, Rudmann 3, Cartmell 3, Boykin 3). Turnovers: 23.

ROCK HILL (0-1):

Monica Bamer 3 0 3-4 9, Marie Bamer 3 0 2-2 8, Keshia Rupp 1 0 3-6 5, Bobbi Harper 2 0 0-0 4, Mandy McKenzie 1 0 1-6 3, Brittany Ross 2 0 0-0 4, Tara Sharp 0 0 1-3 1, Courtney Sharp 0 0 0-0 0, Kelsey Harris 0 0 0-0 0, Jessica Joseph 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 12-45

0-2

10-21

34. Fouls: 15. Fouled out: None. Rebound: 11-13=24 (Marie Bamer 7, Monica Bamer 6). Deadball/team rebounds: 7. Assists: 4 (Monica Bamer 2). Steals: 10 (Rupp 3). Turnovers: 26.