Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

CHESAPEAKE — Defense was the difference.

The Ironton Lady Fighting Tigers used a strong defensive effort and some good outside shooting to breeze past the Chesapeake Lady Panthers 63-30 on Thursday in an Ohio Valley Conference game.

Ironton limited Chesapeake to six points in the first half including just one field goal.

“That was incredible defense. We were locked in at practice and it showed tonight. The girls were there mentally and physically,” said Ironton coach Doug Graham.”

“It was a complete team effort. Everyone who played contributed.”

While the offense was stingy, the offense was explosive led by Sydney Webb who buried six 3-pointers to score 18 points and Lexie Barrier added 12 points — all in the second half.

Cheyenne Scott and Lexie Wise added 8 points each for Ironton (7-0, 5-0).

“Ironton has a very nice team. I expect big things from them this year. The way they shot well tonight. They will be hard to beat,” said Chesapeake coach Chris Ball.

“We wanted to come out and set the tempo and we couldn’t do that. They established that and we didn’t shoot well.”

Natalee Hall scored 16 points to lead to lead Chesapeake (4-2, 3-2).

Webb hit three trifectas in the first quarter as Ironton took a 15-4 lead.

She had another pair of long distance shots in the second quarter and the lead was a comfortable 29-6 at the break.

Barrier had 9 points in the third quarter to offset 9 points by Hall as Ironton extended its lead to 48-20.

Hall added 5 more points in the fourth quarter.

“The second half we played hard and didn’t give up. I’m proud of our effort. We could have packed it in and went home, but we didn’t,” said Ball.

Chesapeake plays Symmes Valley at 3 p.m. Saturday in the South Point Shootout. Ironton hosts Ashland at 3 p.m. Tuesday in the Ironton Classic.

Ironton 15 14 19 15 = 63

Chesapeake 4 2 14 10 = 30

IRONTON (7-0, 5-0): Jordan Hannah 2 0 0-0 4, Lexie Wise 3 0 2-5 8, D’Laynie Keith 1 0 0-4 2, Zakia Lee 3 0 0-0 6, Lexie Barrier 4 1 1-3 12, Sydney Webb 0 6 0-0 18, Alyssa Lewis 2 0 1-2 5, Cheyenne Scott 4 0 0-0 8, Katie Boyer 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19 7 4-14 63. Fouls: 13. Fouled out: None.

CHESAPEAKE (4-2, 3-2): Atiya Spaulding 1 0 2-6 4, Bailey Mills 0 0 0-0 0, Kelsey Huff 0 1 0-0 3, Kaylee Curry 0 0 1-4 1, Jozy Jones 2 0 0-0 4, Natalee Hall 4 1 5-6 16, Brooke Webb 0 0 2-2 2. Totals: 7 2 10-18 30. Fouls: 12. Fouled out: None. Turnovers: 16.