Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

ASHLAND, Ky. — It didn’t take Ironton coach Doug Graham long to analyze the Lady Tigers 55-34 loss Thursday to the Ashland Kittens.

“The game’s pretty simple. You have to put the ball in the basket and we didn’t do that tonight,” said Graham.

“When you don’t make shots, it has a domino effect on the rest of your game. We played pretty good defense but you can’t get a stop on one end and then not score on the other end all night.”

Ironton was just 14-of-44 from the field 31.8 percent and only 5-of-13 from the line for 38.5 percent.

Ashland (8-3) wasn’t much better, but the Kittens were able to take and make more shots. They also had 18 offensive rebounds to 12 for Ironton.

The Kittens were 18-of-53 from the field for 34 percent but did convert 17-of-21 free throws for 81 percent.

Jordan Hannan — who did make 5-of-9 shots — and Lexie Barrier each scored 12 points to pace Ironton (5-8). Barrier also had eight rebounds and Cheyenne Scott grabbed six.

Haley Sue Foutch was the key for Ashland with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Alexis Robinson had 13 points and Shelby Gransberry added 10 points.

Ironton stayed close in the first quarter and held the lead on two occasions at 8-7 and 10-9. The Lady Tigers were 6-of-12 from the field in the first quarter.

Ashland used layups by Foutch and Gransberry to lead 15-12.

A layup by Alyssa Lewis and a short jumper by Barrier got Ironton with 18-16 with 5:29 left in the half, but Ashland converted 9-of-10 foul shots to start pulling away. Two free throws by Alex Young gave the Kittens a 30-20 halftime lead.

The Lady Tigers went stone cold in the third quarter making only one of their 13 shots. Cheyenne Scott’s foul shot at the 3:30 mark was their first point and left them down 34-20.

A layup by Barrier with three seconds left was the lone field goal and Ironton trailed 41-23.

The Kittens led by as many as 23 points in the fourth quarter.

Ironton hosts Lucasville Valley at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Ironton 12 8 3 11 = 34

Ashland 15 15 11 14 = 55

IRONTON (5-8): Jordan Hannan 4 1 1-2 12, Taylor Hannan 0 0 1-2 1, Lexie Barrier 5 0 2-4 12, Macy Wise 2 0 0-0 4, Cheyenne Scott 0 0 1-5 1, Alyssa Lewis 1 0 0-0 2, Karlie Rase 0 0 0-0 0, Zakia Lee 1 0 0-0 2, D’Laynie Keith 0 0 0-0 0, Aley Carmon 0 0 0-0 0, Kara Spencer 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 14-44 5-13 34. Fouls: 20. Fouled out: J. Hannan (4th 1:23). 3-point goals: 1-9. Rebounds: 12-OR, 20-DR = 32 (Barrier 8, Scott 6, Lewis 4). Team/deadball rebounds: 3. Assists: 7 (Barrier 3, T. Hannan 2). Steals: 3. Turnovers: 15.

ASHLAND (8-3): Alexis Robinson 3 0 7-7 13, Haley Sue Foutch 7 1 2-3 19, Shelby Gransberry 4 0 2-4 10, Mykassa Robinson 1 1 0-0 5, Alex Young 0 0 2-3 2, Josie Roberts 1 0 4-4 6, Kaitlin Hammond 0 0 0-0 0, Chloe Kouns 0 0 0-0 0, Rachael Barber 0 0 0-0 0, Selena Miller 0 0 0-0 0, Abigail Hamilton 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18-53 17-21 55. Fouls: 17. Fouled out: None. 3-point goals: 2-16. Rebounds: 18-OR, 26-DR = 44 (Foutch 14, Gransberry 6, A. Robinson 6). Team/deadball rebounds: 5. Assists: 3. Steals: 7 (Roberts 2, Gransberry 2, M. Robinson 2). Turnovers: 11.