Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

The Ironton Lady Fighting Tigers couldn’t make a layup, they couldn’t make a mid-range shot, they couldn’t make a layup, they couldn’t make 3-pointers and they couldn’t make layups.

Did I mention they couldn’t make a layup?

Despite their worst shooting performance of the season, the Lady Fighting Tigers managed to get past the upset-minded South Point Lady Pointers 48-37 on Monday in an Ohio Valley Conference game.

Ironton (11-0, 7-0) made only 21-of-69 floor shots for 30 percent and just 3-of-18 shots from behind the arc for 17 percent.

But the defense was able to force 27 turnovers and key the comeback win.

“You’ll have nights like that and that’s where your defense has to come through. You can’t allow easy buckets and you can’t allow second and third chances,” said Ironton coach Doug Graham.

“In basketball you have nights when you have a lid on the basket and can’t make it fall and other things have to help you out. You have to give South Point some credit and you have to give our girls credit for finding a way to win.”

Sydney Webb scored 10 of her 12 points in the second half to spark the comeback. She also had four assists.

Cheyenne Scott added 9 points, Lexie Wise had 8 points, 13 rebounds and 7 steals while D’Laynie Keith came off the bench to pull down 9 rebounds.

Haley Rawlins scored 13 points — 10 in the first half — and grabbed 9 rebounds to lead the Lady Pointers (6-5, 3-3).

Kate Mundy added 10 points and 7 rebounds while Olivia Abner had 8 rebounds.

Rawlins scored the first 5 points of the game and a putback by Mundy gave South Point a 13-6 first quarter lead.

After just two turnovers in the first quarter, the Lady Pointers were guilty of nine in the second quarter as they managed just six field goal attempts.

Brooklyn Badgett hit an 18-footer with 3:50 left in the half to give South Point its biggest lead at 22-11.

But Jordan Hannan made two straight layups and Scott had another to make it 22-17.

Lexie Barrier’s layup with 23 seconds on the clock cut the deficit to 22-19 at the break.

Ironton forced eight turnovers in the third quarter to trigger the comeback.

A layup by Wise at the 6:11 mark gave the Lady Tigers their first lead at 24-23.

The lead changed hands eight times including two foul shots by Rawlins that gave the Lady Pointers their last lead at 31-30 with 2:04 on the clock.

Webb drained a trifecta with 1:35 left in the quarter as Ironton took the lead for good at 33-31 and her 12-footer with 10 seconds left made it 37-31.

Ironton’s pressure created eight more turnovers in the fourth quarter and a stickback by Wise pushed the lead to 41-31.

A triple by Badget and free throw by Rawlins pulled South Point within 43-37 with 3:49 to play, but Hannan made a foul shot and turned a steal by Webb into a layup for a 46-37 lead.

Keith’s layup with 2:06 to go made it 48-37 and Ironton ran the clock out.

“The second quarter and the second half we played a little bit better. But give South Point credit. They came out and played really well to start the game,” said Graham.

In Thursday’s league games, Ironton visits Coal Grove and South Point hosts Rock Hill.

South Point 13 9 9 6 = 37

Ironton 6 13 18 11 = 48

SOUTH POINT (6-5, 3-3): Haley Rawlins 2 1 6-8 13, Kate Mundy 5 0 0-0 10, Brooklyn Badgett 2 1 2-4 9, Leah Lawson 1 0 0-0 2, Olivia Abner 1 0 0-2 2, Abby Hannah 0 0 1-2 1. Totals: 13-39 9-17 37. 3-point goals: 2-9. Rebounds: 14-O, 26-D = 40 (Rawlins 9, Abner 8, Mundy 7). Team rebounds: 7. Assists: 3. Steals: 4 (Badgett 3). Fouls: 7. Fouled out: None.

IRONTON (11-0, 7-0): Jordan Hannan 3 0 1-2 7, Lexie Wise 3 0 2-2 8, Lexie Barrier 3 0 0-1 6, Sydney Webb 3 2 0-0 12, Cheyenne Scott 3 1 0-0 9, Alyssa Lewis 0 0 0-0 0, D’Laynie Keith 2 0 0-1 4, Zakia Lee 1 0 0-0 2. Totals: 21-69 3-6 48. 3-point goals: 3-18. Rebounds: 22-O, 15-D = 37 (Wise 13, Keith 9). Team rebounds: 4. Assists: 6 (Webb 4, Barrier 2). Steals: 20 (Wise 7, Scott 4). Fouls: 12. Fouled out: None.