Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

Stepping up helped to lift up the Ironton Lady Fighting Tigers.

Several players for the youth and inexperienced Lady Tigers upped their game Wednesday as Ironton beat the Raceland Lady Rams 50-43.

Jordan Hannan had 13 points and 6 rebounds, Cheyenne Scott had 7 rebounds including 6 in the fourth quarter, and Taylor Hannan had 7 points and 2 assists.

“I saw some girls step up. They were more aggressive. Jordan Hannan and Cheyenne Scott did a nice job overall,” said Ironton coach Doug Graham.

One player who didn’t step up for Ironton was Lexie Barrier, but that was only because she was already standing at the top of the ladder.

Barrier had a game-high 21 points to go with 5 rebounds and 3 steals. Time after time, Barrier hit a basket or had a steal at a time when Ironton was in need of a big play.

“Lexie Barrier scored, she handled their pressure and she played defense. She played her typical game,” said Graham.

Raceland (2-2) was led by Lacee Penix, Savannah Mackie and Ashton Sipps with 9 points each.

Ironton (3-3) began the game by taking a 10-3 lead before Mackie and Penix hit 3-pointers. But Barrier made a layup and drained a trifecta just before the buzzer and Ironton led 15-9.

Alyssa Lewis hit a 10-footer and Barrier a 19-footer to give Ironton its biggest lead of the half at 19-11 with 6:06 on the clock.

But the Lady Rams kept chipping away at the deficit and got two free throws each by Krystal Keeton and Mackie to tie the game 26-26 at the half.

Raceland was 9-of-11 at the line to stay close in the first half.

A steal by Jordan Hannan led to a layup by Barrier to start the third quarter. Barrier an Lewis followed with layups as Ironton went up 32-26.

The lead was 37-30 on a basket by Taylor Hannan, but Michelle Vanderhoof sank a 3-pointer before the end of the quarter an the Lady Rams trailed 39-35.

Penix tied the game at 39 with 5:35 to play, but Barrier’s layup with 4:49 left gave Ironton the lead for good.

Raceland began to foul and Ironton converted 9-of-18 the rest of the way.

Ironton visits Greenup County, Ky., Thursday.

Raceland 9 17 9 8 = 43

Ironton 15 11 13 11 = 50

RACELAND (2-2): Lacee Penix 2 1 2-2 9, Michelle Vanderhoof 1 1 1-1 6, Savannah Mackie 1 1 4-5 9, Savannah Cotton 1 0 0-0 2, Krystal Keeton 1 0 3-4 5, Stashia Johnson 0 0 0-0 0, Leigh Grubb 0 1 0-1 3, Ashton Sipps 2 0 5-6 9, Taylor Fritz 0 0 0-0 0, Emily Bryant 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 12-44 15-19 43. 3-point goals: 4-14. Rebounds: 7-off, 23-def = 30 (Keeton 8, Cotton 6). Team rebounds: 1. Assists: 3 (Penix 2). Steals: 9 (Penix 2, Mackie 2). Turnovers: 26. Fouls: 23. Fouled out: None.

IRONTON (3-3): Jordan Hannan 3 0 7-10 13, Taylor Hannan 3 0 1-4 7, Lexie Barrier 6 1 6-11 21, Macy Wise 0 0 0-0 0, Cheyenne Scott 1 0 3-6 5, Alyssa Lewis 2 0 0-0 4, Peyton Arden 0 0 0-0 0. Zakie Lee 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 16-41 17-31 50. 3-point goals: 1-7. Rebounds: 6-off, 24-def = 30 (Scott 7, J. Hannan 6, Barrier 5). Assists: 6 (Barrier 2, T. Hannan 2). Steals: 14 (Barrier 3). Turnovers: 20. Fouls: 16. Fouled out: None.