By JIM WALKER

Tribune Sports Editor

Ringo Starr sang on the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album, “I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends.”

The tune must have been stuck in the heads of the Ironton Lady Fighting Tigers Thursday.

While Nikki Elswick continued to draw double teams, the other Lady Tigers came to her aid in a 57-41 win over the Adena Lady Warriors.

Alex Taylor — did not score Monday at Oak Hill — had a big game with 16 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals. Alisha Murphy had a season-high 11 points and Ironton dominated the boards to get the win.

Elswick had another big game with 24 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots. Ironton outrebounded Adena 35-20.

“We were much more aggressive on offense than we were against Oak Hill and we did a good job limiting them to one shot,” said Ironton coach Doug Graham.

“They hit some three to stay in the game, but we contested those in the second half. Adena is a good team. This is a good win for us.”

Adena never led but the game was tied four times, the last 39-39 with 6:51 to play on a 3-pointer by Brytan Givens.

Adena didn’t score again until a putback by Jenny Grigsby with 1:57 to play to make it 48-41.

The Lady Warriors began fouling and Taylor was 5 of 6 Ironton while Murphy and Elswick each had layups as Ironton closed the game with a 9-0 run.

“I thought we handled the last part of the game really well. We’ve struggled at times in those situations, but everyone did what we wanted,” said Graham.

Murphy had eight points in the first quarter as Ironton took a 16-13 lead.

Elswick hit a trifecta with 4:31 on the clock to give Ironton a 26-18 lead and Ariel Schweickart turned a steal into a layup as Ironton took its biggest lead of the half at 29-19. Autumn Smith hit a 15-footer just before the buzzer to get Adena within 29-21.

Michelle Ackley hit a 3-point to tie the game at 33 with 1:52 on the third quarter clock. Elswick converted a 3-point play for Ironton but Ackley hit another triple to tie the game at the end of the quarter.

Ackley had 12 points and Smith 10 to lead Adena (5-3).

Adena 13 8 15 5 = 41

Ironton 16 13 7 21 = 57

ADENA (5-3): Natalie Cooper 2 0 0-0 4, Jenny Grigsby 3 0 1-2 7, Autumn Smith 2 2 0-2 10, Alyssa Dawson 0 0 1-2 1, Brytan Givens 2 1 0-0 7, Hannah Holcomb 0 0 0-0 0, Michelle Ackley 0 4 0-0 12. Totals: 16-53 2-6 41. Fouls: 16. Fouled out: None. 3-point goals: 7-24. Rebounds: 10 offense, 10 defense = 20 (Grigsby 6, Dawson 5). Teams/deadball rebounds: 5. Assists: 4 (Smith 2). Steals: 5 (Grigsby 2). Turnovers: 14.

IRONTON (6-2): Alex Taylor 5 0 6-8 16, Nikki Elswick 10 1 1-2 24, Ariel Schweickart 1 0 0-0 2, Karlee McMackin 1 0 1-2 3, Alisha Murphy 5 0 1-2 11, Emily Davis 0 0 0-1 0, Torie Klaiber 0 0 1-2 1, Kaitlyn Adkins 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 23-37 10-17 57. Fouls: 10. Fouled out: None. 3-point goals: 1-2. Rebounds: 8 offense, 27 defense = 35 (Elswick 11, Taylor 8). Team/deadball rebounds: 3. Assists: 10 (Taylor 6). Steals: 6 (Taylor 4). Turnovers: 20. Blocked shots: 3 (Elswick 3).