LANCASTER - If you've got a good horse, you ride it. For the Ironton Lady Fighting Tigers, Andrea Rudmann must have seemed like Secretariat.

Trailing 11 points with 23 seconds left in the third quarter, Ironton's season appeared to be on the brink of elimination.

But Rudmann, Ironton's 5-foot-9 senior guard, scored 20 of her game-high 29 points in the fourth quarter and in overtime as the Lady Tigers got a third straight comeback win by stunning the No. 3-ranked Jonathan Alder Lady Pioneers 57-56 in the Division III regional semifinals Wednesday.

"We have a saying that says 'Leave everything on the floor.' If this was going to be my last game, I'm leaving it all on the floor. If anyone was going to do it, it was going to be me," Rudmann said. "I wasn't losing. I was not losing."

Early in the game, Rudmann shot an air ball and became the target of the Alder student section. Ironton coach Amy Hughes said that may have been a mistake.

"Rudy feeds off that. She loves the pressure. Don't ever tell her she can't do something," Hughes said.

Rudmann admitted that she struggled early because of nerves.

"In the first half I was nervous. In the second half, coach Hughes told me to keep in the flow of the game and keep shooting," Rudmann said. "My teammates got me the ball and I started to get my confidence."

Not only did Ironton (23-1) set a school record for wins, but it will meet West Muskingum at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in the regional championship game. The Lady Tornadoes (22-3) shocked No. 1 Oak Hill 71-53. The winner will advance to the state tournament.

The comeback was even more impressive than the previous two that saw Ironton come from 13 down to beat Minford and 8 back to top Zane Trace. Hughes said she doesn't know why her team doesn't kick into gear earlier in a game.

"I wish they'd let me in on the secret," Hughes said with a laugh.

"But our defense and rebounding won the game. They had 21 points in the first quarter and had only 25 more the rest of regulation. Prochaska had 24 points, but 13 came in the first quarter and she got a couple of layups off steals late, so we got after her."

Lauren Prochaska led Alder (23-2) with 24 points. Brianna Votaw had 20 points including five 3-pointers.

Besides Rudmann, Sara Hacker had 10 points and 10 rebounds and Jessica Waddle came off the bench to score 10 points.

After Ironton took an 8-1 lead to start the game, Prochaska had 13 points in the first quarter to put Alder up 21-15. Hacker and Rudmann combined for 11 points.

Each team scored just 2 points in the second quarter - Alder was 0-for-13 from the field and Ironton 1-of-10 - to make it 23-17 at the break.

A 3-pointer by Erica Wehner gave Alder a 34-23 lead with 23 seconds left in the third quarter. Rudmann's layup with 11 seconds left set the score at 34-25.

But Rudmann got into flow of the offense and scored 14 points including a pair of 3-pointers, one with 3:41 left in regulation that put Ironton ahead 41-39. Her second trey pushed the lead to 44-39.

Two straight steals by Prochaska - one became a 3-point play - enabled Alder to take a 46-44 lead with 1:46 left. Waddle then sank two foul shots with 1:34 left to tie the game.

"I was terrified, but I knew we had to have it. I just knew I had to step up and play my best," Waddle said of her big foul shots.

Rudmann hit a 3-pointer to start the overtime and her second trifecta extended the lead to 54-48.

Votaw hit a 3-pointer with 47 seconds left and banked in a 3-pointer with 26 seconds on the clock and it was 57-56.

Ironton missed the front end of a one-and-one with 10 seconds left, but Aleashia Wood missed a 3-point attempt as time ran out.

"It was a good, gutsy performance," Hughes said. "But tougher times lie ahead. West Muskingum looked awful impressive."

Alder212111210=56

Ironton15282111=57

JONATHAN ALDER (23-2):

Megan Cooper 2-3 0-0 4, Lauren Prochaska 7-15 8-10 24, Jessie Adams 0-4 0-0 0, Brianna Votaw 6-15 3-4 20, Erica Wehner 1-4 0-0 3, Aleashia Wood 1-7 1-2 4. Totals: 17-46

13-16

56. Fouls: 12. Fouled out: None. 3-point goals: 9-23 (Prochaska 2-2, Votaw 5-15, Wehner 1-3, Wood 1-4). Rebounds: 11-15=26 (Prochaska 9, Adams 6, Wood 6). Team/deadball rebounds: 4. Total rebounds: 30. Assists: 2 (Wood 2). Steals: 11 (Prochaska 5, Cooper 3, Adams 3). Turnovers: 15. FG% – 36.9. FT% – 81.3. 3pt% – 39.1.

IRONTON (23-1):

Andrea Rudmann 11-20 2-2 29, Danielle Henderson 0-2 0-0 0, Mandi Boykin 3-10 0-0 6, Sarah Cartmell 0-2 0-0 0, Sara Hacker 4-13 1-3 10, Ciara Taylor 1-1 0-0 2, Jessica Waddle 3-6 4-5 10. Totals: 22-54

7-10

57. Fouls: 16. Fouled out: None. 3-point goals: 6-12 (Rudmann 5-11, Hacker 1-1). Rebounds: 18-19=37 (Hacker 10, Boykin 8, Cartmell 5, Taylor 5). Assists: 6 (Boykin 2, Henderson 2). Steals: 8 (Taylor 3, Hacker 2). Turnovers: 15. FG% – 40.7. FT% – 70. 3pt% – 50.