By JIM WALKER

Tribune Sports Editor

 

McARTHUR — AT&T was busy Monday night. The Vinton County Lady Vikings kept dialing up from long distance.

Vinton County hit 10 of 19 shots from behind the 3-point arc and pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat the Ironton Lady Fighting Tigers 63-48.

“They shot the ball really well. I kept waiting for them to cool off and it just didn’t happen. But part of that was our fault. We didn’t defend as well as we can,” said Ironton coach Doug Graham.

Ironton had three players in double figures led by Ariel Schweickart with 13 points and 4 assists. Karlee McMackin had 12 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals while Alicia Murphy added 10 points and 7 rebounds.

Caitlyn Owings scored 15 points to pace Vinton County (7-5). Keshia Griffith had 13 and Megan Dixon 11.

Vinton County jumped out to a 12-2 lead before Ironton cut the gap to 17-8 at the end of the first quarter.

“We were lazy on defense early and let them set themselves and hit some shots,” said Graham.

The Lady Tigers held the Lady Vikings to just 6 points in the second quarter and trailed 23-21 at the half.

Ironton tied the game twice in the third quarter before Vinton County managed to squirm loose for a 37-32 lead.

McMackin scored 10 of her points in the fourth quarter but Griffith got all 13 of her points as she hit three 3-pointers and went 4-for-4 at the foul line and the Lady Vikings outscored Ironton 26-16 to get the win.

Ironton (2-11) hosts Raceland, Ky., on Wednesday. The jayvee game is at 6 p.m. and the varsity at 6:45.

Ironton 8 13 11 16 = 48

Vinton County 17 6 14 26 = 63

IRONTON (2-11): Emily Davis 2 0 1-2 5, Ariel Schweickart 5 0 3-5 13, Karlee McMackin 4 0 4-4 12, Alisha Murphy 4 0 2-2 10, Lexy Washington 2 0 1-2 5, Saige Fields 1 0 1-2 3. Totals: 18-44 12-17 48. 3-point goals: 0-5. Rebounds: 22 (McMackin 7, Murphy 7). Assists: 9 (Schweickart 4). Steals: 6 (McMackin 3, Washington 2). Turnovers: 13. Fouls: 13. Fouled out: None.

VINTON COUNTY (7-4): Xan Hale 3 1 0-0 9, Caitlyn Owings 3 1 6-10 15, Maria Bartlett 0 0 2-2 2, Keishia Griffith 0 3 4-4 13, Maranda Hale 2 1 1-1 8, Jamee Park 0 0 0-0 0, Emily Zinn 1 1 0-0 5, Josie Ward 0 0 0-0 0, Megan Dixon 1 3 0-0 11, Kelsey Griffith 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 10 10 13-17 63. Fouls: 11. Fouled out: None.