Jim Walker
jim.walker@irontontribune.com

The Coal Grove Lady Hornets just needed to get turning in the right direction.
Leading by just 7 points at halftime, the Lady Hornets turned their offense around in the second half as they beat the Ironton Lady Fighting Tigers 56-25 in an Ohio Valley Conference game on Monday.
“Ironton has some quick kids. We rotated poorly on our defense and allowed them to know down some shots and it caused us to be in bad position and we picked up some cheap fouls,” said Lady Hornets’ coach Rick Roach.
“(Ironton) kept it close the first half. We made a couple of adjustments at halftime and played better defense. I felt like out ball pressure forced them to take some rushed shots.”
Addi Dillow scored a game-high 23 points while Kaleigh Murphy had 12 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Lady Hornets (5-1, 4-1).
“Murphy was able to take advantage of her size and get some good offensive boards that led to putbacks,” said Roach.
Despite missing two players and a third — Kirsten Williams — playing in her first game of the season, the Lady Fighting Tigers stayed closed for Coal Grove’s veteran experience took over.
“The girls played hard and gave a good effort,” said Ironton coach Doug Graham. “We need to box out better and hit some shots. We’ll get better as we get more girls back and as we get more practice time.”
Isabel Morgan had 11 points including three 3-pointers to lead Ironton (1-4, 0-3). Evan Williams scored 8 points and Teegan Carpenter added 6 to account for all the scoring.
Dillow scored 6 points and Rylee Harmon added 4 as Coal Grove went up 14-9 in the first quarter. Morgan hit a trey and had 5 points while Evan Williams was 4-of-4 at the foul line.
Dillow and Abbey Hicks each hit 3-pointers as Coal Grove went up 24-17 at the half. Morgan hit a pair of triples for Ironton.
The Lady Hornets blew the game open in the third quarter as they outscored Ironton 16-2. Dillow had 8 points and Jaidyn Griffith added 4 points.
The Lady Fighting Tigers struggled with only a pair of foul shots by Williams.
Murphy scored 6 points as Coal Grove continued to build on its lead in the fourth quarter. Carpenter had all 6 of Ironton’s points.
Ironton visits Portsmouth on Thursday.
Coal Grove 14 10 16 16 = 56
Ironton 9 8 2 6 = 25
COAL GROVE (5-1, 4-1): Kelsey Fraley 0 0 0-0 0, Elli Holmes 2 0 1-3 5, Addi Dillow 8 1 2-2 23, Kinsey Keeney 0 0 0-0 0, Katie Deeds 0 0 0-0 0, Alivia Noel 0 0 0-0 0, Autum Hicks 0 0 0-0 0, Kaleigh Murphy 6 0 0-0 12, Abbey Hicks 1 1 1-2 6, Rylee Harmon 1 0 2-3 4 Jaidyn Griffith 3 0 0-03 6. Totals: 23-62 6-13 56. 3-pt goals: 2. Fouls: 9. Fouled out: None.
IRONTON (1-4, 0-3): Mary Lackey 0 0 0-0 0, Chasity Cecil 0 0 0-0 0, Lilly Zornes 0 0 0-0 0, Teegan Carpenter 1 1 1-1 6, Katelyn Cecil 0 0 0-0 0, Kirsten Williams 0 0 0-0 0, Isabel Morgan 1 3 0-0 11, Evan Williams 1 0 6-6 8, Gretta Patterson 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 7-38 7-7 25. 3-pt goals: 4. Fouls: 12. Fouled out: None.