GALLIPOLIS — Ironton coach Doug Graham was snapping his fingers to the beat of his Lady Fighting Tigers.

After watching his Lady Fighting Tigers blitz the Gallipolis Blue Angels 55-40 in a Southeastern Ohio Athletic League game Friday, Graham praised his team’s effort.

“We played really well to start the game. We were clicking well as a team,” said Ironton coach Doug Graham. “We handled their pressure, ran our offense and did a good job on defense.

“I was happy with a holiday road victory.”

Ironton bolted to a 10-0 lead midway through the first quarter and led 14-2 at the quarter.

The lead grew to 22-4 early in the second quarter and it was 26-10 heading into the locker room.

The Lady Tigers built their biggest lead at 51-27 with 4:34 left in the third quarter when Graham began emptying his bench.

Gallipolis got within 46-27 at the end of the third quarter and outscored Ironton 13-9 in the fourth quarter

“We had a letdown in the second half. We lost our intensity and just went through the motions. We’ve got to learn to stay focused for four quarters,” said Graham.

Ironton’s tandem of Mercedes “Benz” Crockrel and Jessica Waddle had solid all-around games. Crockrel had 19 points, eight rebounds and five assists while Waddle finished with 17 points and seven assists.

Michelle Pancake scored 10 points to go with eight rebounds.

“Michelle Pancake played her best all-around game. She did a nice job. Mercedes played well and Jessica was helping everywhere,” said Graham.

“Janie Morris didn’t score a lot, but she played well. All the girls played well for the most part. It was a team effort.”

Ryann Leslie led Gallipolis (3-6, 1-4) with 20 points.

Ironton (5-4, 2-3) hosts Portsmouth Wednesday with a two-quarter jayvee game beginning at 6 p.m.

Ironton1412209=55

Gallipolis281713=40

IRONTON (5-4, 2-3): Jessica Waddle 8 0 1-2 17, Mercedes Crockrel 8 0 3-4 19, Alex Taylor 0 0 0-0 0, Brea Tackett 2 1 0-0 7, Michelle Pancake 4 0 2-3 10, Janie Morris 1 0 0-0 2, Cortney Rister Edi Taylor 0 0 0-0 0, Cari Rister 0 0 0-0 0, Emily Lilly, Lorna Caesar 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 23 1 6-9 55. Fouls: 14. Fouled out: None. Rebounds: 26 (Crockrel 8, Pancake 8). Assists: 18 (Waddle 7, Crockrel 5). Steals: 12.

GALLIPOLIS (3-6, 1-4): Samantha Barnes 1 0 0-0 2, Tara Young 1 0 0-0 2, Alexis Geiger 1 0 3-3 5, Emily White 1 0 0-0 2, Kimber Davis 2 0 0-0 4, Ryann Leslie 9 0 2-4 20, Hannah Cunningham 1 0 0-0 2, Rachel Jones 1 0 0-0 2, Amy Noe 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 17 0 6-11 40. Fouls: 13. Fouled out: None.