Jim Walker
jim.walker@irontontribune.com

ATHENS — Not only was there a lid on the basket, it was welded on tight.
The Ironton Lady Fighting Tigers shot a brutal 19.5 percent from the field as they lost 41-28 to the Adena Lady Warriors Sunday in the Division III district championship game at Ohio University’s Convocation Center.
“Adena did a nice job, but more than anything it was our lack of execution,” said Ironton coach Doug Graham.
“We had a lot of open looks and didn’t make them. There were times we did a good job on the press, but there were times we were out of place and they were left open and scored.”
Ironton connected on only 8-of-41 field goal attempts. Adena made 18-of-42 shots for 42.9 percent.
The poor shooting led to a slow start. Bethany Delong scored to put Adena up 2-0 at the 7:03 mark and no one scored again until Alicia Murphy made two foul shots at the 4:56 mark for Ironton.
A jump hook by Lexie Barrier put Ironton ahead 5-2 with 50 seconds left in the quarter.
After shooting 1-of-7 from the field in the first quarter, Ironton turned the ball over five times in the second quarter.
Natalie Cooper had a pair of steals that she turned into baskets as Adena took a 6-5 lead. The Lady Warriors led 10-5 before Karlee McMackin hit a shot from the middle of the lane for Ironton at the 4:23 mark.
Murphy hit two foul shots to get Ironton within 12-9, but a key turning point came a minute later.
Michelle Ackley hit a 3-pointer at the 2:52 mark and Adena was up 15-9. Ironton was called for a foul under the basket on the play and the ball went back to the Lady Warriors who capitalized as Jenny Grigsby made a layup for a 17-9 lead,
“That was big. That had a big impact. In essence, it was a five-point play,” said Graham.
Lexie Washington made a layup for the Lady Tigers but Alyssa Kennedy’s 15-footer just before the buzzer gave Adena a 19-11 lead at the break.
A free throw by Cooper gave Adena a 24-11 lead before Ironton scored in the second half.
Lexie Barrier’s layup ended the Ironton scoring drought and a 12-footer by Lexie Washington cut the deficit to 27-19 with 1:04 on the clock. A layup by Kennedy made it a 10-point game to end the quarter.
Cooper hit a 15-footer to open up a 33-20 lead almost two minutes into the fourth quarter, but a layup by Washington, a steal by Ariel Schweickart and a trifecta by Barrier closed the gap to 36-25 with 3:41 to play.
But Cooper hit a 10-footer and Grigsby made a layup and a foul shot by Cooper broke the game open at 41-25 with 1:34 left.
Barrier had 11 points and five rebounds as Ironton finished the season 20-6. Alicia Murphy grabbed eight rebounds.
Cooper scored 16 points to go with 10 rebounds for Adena (22-2). The Lady Warriors held a 34-24 rebound advantage.
Graham praised his team including seniors Schweickart, McMackin, Murphy and Alana Martin.
“I was very proud of this group. They worked hard and we had a good season. We beat some quality teams,” said Graham.
Ironton      5    6    8    9    =    28
Adena      2    17    10    12    =    41
IRONTON (20-6): Lexie Washington 2 0 2-2 6, Lexie Barrier 3 1 2-2 11, Ariel Schweickart 0 0 2-4 2, Karlee McMackin 1 0 0-0 2, Alicia Murphy 0 0 5-6 5, Jordan Hannan 0 0 0-0 0, Macy Wise 0 0 0-0 0, Taylor Hannan 0 0 0-0 0, Alana Martin 0 0 0-0 0, Desiree Scott 0 0 0-0 0, Cheyenne Scott 0 0 0-0 0, Jordan Leach 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 8-41 11-14 29. 3-point goals: 1-10. Rebounds: 7 offense, 17 defense = 24 (Murphy 8, Barrier 5). Team rebounds: 5. Assistrs: 2. Steals: 11 (Schweickart 4, Murphy 3, Barrier 2). Turnovers: 15. Fouls: 11. Fouled out: None. FG% = 19.5. FT% = 78.6.
ADENA (22-2): Natalie Cooper 7 0 2-4 16, Jenny Grigsby 3 0 2-3 8, Alyssa Dawson 2 0 0-0 4, Bethany Delong 1 0 0-0 2, Alyssa Kennedy 4 0 0-0 8, Michelle Ackley 0 1 0-0 3, Amber Foster 0 0 0-0 0, Taylor Clarkson 0 0 0-0 0, Chloe Shea 0 0 0-0 0, Makenzi Peck 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18-42 4-7 41. 3-point goals: 1-4. Rebounds: 7 offense, 27 defense = 34 (Cooper 10, Dawson 8, Kennedy 7). Team rebounds: 3. Assists: 6 (Dawson 3, Ackley 2). Steals: 7 (Cooper 4). Turnovers: 19. Fouls: 10. Fouled out: None. FG% = 42.9. FT% = 57.1.