By JIM WALKER

Tribune Sports Editor

Ironton coach Doug Graham got to see a lot of different players and he liked what he saw.

Ironton emptied its bench early and often in picking up a 48-23 win over the Chillicothe Lady Cavaliers Wednesday.

“It was a good opportunity to see everyone in a varsity game situation,” said Graham. “I thought Ariel (Schweickart) played better. She anticipated well and made some plays. We’re going to need that the rest of the way.”

Nikki Elswick had 19 points to lead Ironton (10-4). Schweickart added a career-high 10 points plus five steals as the starters played only about half the game.

Alex Taylor had six steals and three assists in her limited time.

Mindy Williams scored 10 for Chillicothe while Kaylee Wright had seven points and eight rebounds.

The Lady Cavaliers had 27 turnovers and were 11 of 31 from the field.

The Lady Fighting Tigers led 15-0 at the end of the first quarter as Elswick scored nine points. Chillicothe managed only two field goal attempts in the quarter and committed 12 turnovers.

The Ironton defense forced eight more turnovers in the second quarter and held Chillicothe to just five shots to take a 27-4 halftime lead.

Taylor stole the ball and fed Elswick for a layup and then Taylor turned another steal into a layup by Schweickart as Ironton built a 43-9 lead with 1:23 left in the third quarter sending the starters back to the bench for good.

“I know the starters didn’t play much, but this sport is about team and it was a good opportunity to see everyone play,” said Graham.

The Lady Fighting Tigers will play Cabell Midland at 4 p.m. Saturday in the Huntington Memorial Field House before visiting Minford on Monday.

Chillicothe 0 4 5 14 = 23

Ironton 15 12 16 5 = 48

CHILLICOTHE (NA): Kaylee Wright 2 1 0-2 7, Lauren Lane 2 0 0-0 4, Mindy Williams 50 0-4 10, Sheyanne Helton 0 0 0-0 0, Kayla Keener 0 0 0-0 0, Kendall Lewis 0 0 0-1 0, Meegan Conrad 0 0 0-0 0, Natalier Howie 0 0 0-0 0, Jessica Pentecost 0 0 0-0 0, Elizabeth Fry 0 0 0-0 0, Kindle Viney 0 0 0-0 0, Daesha Patterson 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 11-31 0-7 23. Fouls: 8. Fouled out: None. 3-point goals: 1-3. Rebounds: 5 offense, 26 defense = 31 (Wright 8, Howie 5). Team/deadball rebounds: 4. Assists: 4 (Wright 2). Steals: 1 (Williams). Turnovers: 27.

IRONTON (10-4): Alex Taylor 3 0 0-2 6, Nikki Elswick 9 0 1-2 19, Ariel Schweickart 5 0 0-0 10, Karlee McMackin 1 0 0-0 2, Alicia Murphy 2 0 0-0 4, Emily Davis 0 0 0-0 0, Torie Klaiber 1 0 1-3 3, Kaitlyn Adkins 2 0 0-0 4, Taitlyn Dutey 0 0 0-0 0, Saige Fields 0 0 0-2 0. Totals: 23-54 2-10 48. Fouls: 11. Fouled out: None. 3-point goals: 0-2. Rebounds: 10 offense, 18 defense = 28 (Adkins 6, Elswick 5). Team/deadball rebounds: 3. Assists: 7 (Taylor 3, Schweickart 2, Adkins 2). Steals: 18 (Taylor 6, Schweickart 5). Turnovers: 10.