Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

ASHLAND, Ky. — If you happen to watch one of those Sunday morning fishing shows, you might see highlights from this game.

The Ironton Lady Fighting Tigers have a “you should have seen the one that got away” story to match any fisherman’s tale as they fell short of their upset bid Saturday of the Parkersburg South Lady Patriots at the Kitten Shootout.

South (7-0) is the defending Class AAA state champion in West Virginia and has virtually its entire team returning. Ironton came within a snapped fishing line of an upset before losing 54-51.

The Lady Tigers were just 12-of-24 from the foul line including 3-of-9 in the fourth quarter.

“We had some chances. We worked hard and had some opportunities but didn’t cash in,” said Ironton coach Doug Graham.

“But the girls all played really well. Karlie Rase and Macy Wise came in and battled. They all played their roles well.”

Lexie Barrier played the role of scorer and played it so well she had a career high 29 points. She also grabbed 13 rebounds to go with three steals.

Jordan Hannan scored 9 points, Cheyenne Scott had 3 assists and Wise and Rase combined for 9 rebounds.

Taryn McCuthceon scored 18 points to lead the Lady Patriots. Katelyn Byrd had 14 points and 9 rebounds, Keya Barlett scored 10 points and Carlie Wilson pulled down 11 rebounds.

The taller Lady Patriots held a 45-32 rebound advantage including 20-5 on the offensive glass. They shot 20-of-66 from the floor while Ironton was 18-of-41 floor shots.

South was 5-of-24 from the 3-point line including 5-of-19 in the first half.

Barrier scored 9 points in the first quarter including a 15-footer that put Ironton up 17-12. Wilson’s 3-pointer made it 17-15 at the end of the stanza.

A layup by Mykalyn Fallon gave the Lady Patriots the lead for good at 21-19.

Ironton (5-7) got within 24-23 on a pair of foul shots by Scott. But South outscored Ironton 7-2 the rest of the quarter and led 31-26 at the break.

A layup by Hannan to start the second half cut the deficit to 31-28, but the Lady Patriots opened up a 45-35 lead on a layup by Barlett with 2:27 left in the quarter.

Scott and Wise made back-to-back layups to end the quarter and get Ironton within 46-39.

Trailing 50-41 less than two minutes into the fourth quarter, Ironton missed four free throw attempts, but Barrier had a steal and a 3-point play, then drained a trifecta and the Lady Tigers were down 50-47 with 3:38 left.

Hannan’s layup and a two foul shots by Barrier cut the margin to a scant 52-51 with 40 seconds left.

McCutcheon missed the front end of a one-and-one, but Ironton failed to score and McCutcheon made two foul shots and it was 54-51 with seven seconds to play.

A 3-point attempt by Barrier just before the buzzer missed its target and South had escaped with the win.

“I’ve definitely seen improvement. But we can’t be satisfied with a moral victory. As long as we come in and work, we can continue to get better,” said Graham.

Parkersburg S. 15 16 15 8 = 54

Ironton 17 9 13 12 = 51

PARKERSBURG SOUTH (6-0): Taryn McCuthcheon 3 2 6-8 18, Keya Bartlett 4 0 2-5 10, Katelyn Byrd 4 2 0-0 14, Anna Hayton 1 0 1-2 3, Carlie Wilson 0 1 0-0 3, Mykalyn Fallon 2 0 0-0 4, Hannah Cothern 1 0 0-0 2, Katelyn Enoch 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 20-66 9-14 54. 3-point goals: 5-24. Rebounds: 20-OR, 25-DR = 45 (Wilson 11, Byrd 9, McCutcheon 7, Hayton 6). Team/deadball rebounds: 8. Assists: 6 (McCutcheon 2). Steals: 10 (Barlett 3, Wilson 2, McCutcheon 2). Turnovers: 12. Fouls: 18. Fouled out: None.

IRONTON (5-7): Jordan Hannan 4 0 1-2 9, Taylor Hannan 1 1 0-2 5, Lexie Barrier 8 2 7-13 29, Macy Wise 1 0 0-2 2, Cheyenne Scott 1 0 2-2 4, Alyssa Lewis 0 0 0-0 0, Karlie Rase 0 0 2-3 2, Zakia Lee 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18-41 12-24 51. 3-point goals: 3-9. Rebounds: 5-OR, 28-DR = 32 (Barrier 13, Wise 6, J. Hannan 4). Assists: 6 (Scott 3). Steals: 5 (Barrier 3). Turnovers: 14. Fouls: 11. Fouled out: None.