Jim Walker
jim.walker@irontontribune.com

The Ironton Lady Fighting Tigers just needed a little tune-up over the holiday season.
The Lady Tigers sputtered a little early but then shifted into high gear as they routed the Raceland Lady Rams 59-30 on Friday in The Western & Southern Insurance Ironton Classic.
Ironton led just 14-6 after the first quarter but then held Raceland to a mere 14 points over three quarters en route to the win.
“We started slow but we picked it up and played well the last three quarters,” said Ironton coach Doug Graham.
“We had a lot of transition (points), a lot of defensive stops, and we had great ball movement and got easy open looks.”
Lexi Wise has a career-high 21 points to go with 6 rebounds for the Lady Fighting Tigers (6-1).
“She played really well. She filled up the stat sheet,” said Graham.
Alyssa Lewis was also in double figures with 14 points, Riley Schreck had 8 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists in her first varsity start, and Sydney Webb had another solid all-around game with 8 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 steals.
Lexie Arden added 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.
Lauren Runyon had 12 points and 12 rebounds for Raceland (2-6).
The game was tied at 4-4 when Arden followed up a missed shot to put Ironton up for good with 4:03 on the clock.
Webb buried a trifecta just before the buzzer to make it 14-6.
Schreck’s baseline shot, another Webb 3-pointer and a Schreck put-back opened up a 21-6 lead.
Wise scored 8 points the rest of the quarter including a 3-pointer and 3-point play and Ironton ended the half with a 6-0 run to lead 37-9.
Graham substituted freely throughout the game in an effort to build more team depth.
“I definitely tried to get the girls some playing time. We need to get them comfortable on the varsity floor. I want to go eight or nine deep. They need to get used to the speed of the game,” said Graham.
Ironton hosts Russell, Ky., on Thursday in a key matchup.
Raceland    6    3    5    16    =    30
Ironton       14    23    15    7    =    59
RACELAND (2-6): Lauren Runyon 1 2 4-8 12, Morgan Curley 1 0 0-0 2, Whitney Lute 0 0 0-0 0, Emilee Garvin 1 0 2-2 4, Chloe Collins 4 0 0-3 8, Brooklyn Boyd 1 0 0-2 2, Reagan West 0 0 0-0 0, Sierra Maynard 0 0 0-0 0, Adriana Flocker 0 0 0-0 0, Lynzi Burton 0 0 0-0 0, Trinity Crisp 0 0 0-0 0, Shalyn West 1 0 0-0 2. Totals: 11-40 6-15 30. 3-point goals: 2-17. Rebounds: 10-O, 20-D = 30 (Runyon 12, Curley 5). Team/deadball rebounds: 6. Assists: 2. Steals: 6 (Curley 3). Turnovers: 20. Fouls: 9. Fouled out: None.
IRONTON (6-1): Sydney Webb 1 2 0-0 8, Lexi Wise 6 2 3-4 21, Alyssa Lewis 6 0 2-4 16, Riley Schreck 4 0 0-0 8, Lexie Arden 2 0 0-0 4, Taiya Hamlet 1 0 0-0 2, Haylee Stevens 0 0 0-0 0, Katie Boyer 0 0 0-0 0, Sophie Caines 0 0 0-0 0, Elli Williams 1 0 0-1 2, Faith Hughes 0 0 0-0 0, Reece Stager 0 0 0-2 0, Shay Cox 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 25-54 5-13 59. 3-point goals: 4-9. Rebounds: 14-O, 24-D = 38 (Webb 6, Wise 6, Arden 6, Hamlet 6, Schreck 5). Team/deadball rebounds: 3. Assists: 9 (Webb 3, Arden 3, Schreck 2). Steals: 13 (Webb 5, Arden 3). Turnovers: 13. Fouls: 11. Fouled out: None.