Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

WAVERLY — Forget baseball, this nine player lineup is proving to be quite formidable.

The Ironton Lady Fighting Tigers used their depth and defense to rout the second-seeded Eastern Brown Lady Warriors 50-31 on Monday in the Division III district semifinals.

“Players one through nine played extremely well. We got very valuable minutes off the bench. I felt very comfortable putting girls in,” said Ironton coach Doug Graham.

“They were playing good defense, getting rebounds, taking care of the basketball, doing things they were capable of. I was very proud of them.”

Ironton limited the Lady Warriors to just 33 field goal attempts and forced them to commit 18 turnovers. The Lady Tigers also held a 30-28 rebound advantage as Eastern Brown managed only six offensive boards.

Eastern Brown was held to single digit field goal attempts in each quarter.

“It all starts with defense. You play fundamentally sound on the ball, make sure you’re talking on defense so that girls know where you’re at, and limit (the other team) to one shot because when you get to this stage and you give a team two shots they’re going to make one of them,” said Graham.

Filling the No. 3 spot in the lineup was Sydney Webb with Lexie Barrier batting cleanup. Webb had 16 points and six rebounds while Barrier had 13 points, seven rebounds, two assists and five steals for the Lady Tigers who had seven players score.

Ironton now plays Nelsonville-York at 8 p.m. Friday in the district finals at the Waverly Downtown Arena.

Allison Day got 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Lady Warriors (19-5).

A 3-ball by Webb to start the game and a layup and two foul shots by Barrier gave Ironton a 7-0 lead.

Eastern Brown rallied to take a 9-7 lead but a trifecta by Taylor Hannan put Ironton back on top and the lead changed hands two more times before a free throws by the Lady Tigers’ D’Laynie Keith tied the game at 13 to end the quarter.

Ironton was 5-of-9 from the field in the second quarter including 3-pointers by Webb and Hannan that helped give Ironton a 25-14 lead.

A putback by Keith and free throws by Lexi Wise put Ironton up 28-16 at the half.

“They started out in a 1-3-1 and were giving up the perimeter on purpose and we took advantage of it,” said Graham.

Barrier hit a baseline shot to start the second half and Webb scored 9 points in the quarter including a 10-foot runner in the lane and another trey at the 1:55 mark that extended the lead to 39-22.

Another stickback by Keith made it 41-24 before two foul shots by Eastern’s Kyndal Sowers made it 41-26 to end the quarter.

“The last practice I got on the (shooting) gun (machine) and shot a lot, so I think that’s what helped because I haven’t been on the gun for a while,” said Webb. “I just need to get in the gym and practice it. I just felt it tonight I guess.

“(Defensively) it was mainly Cheyenne (Scott). She blocks out really well. She’s aggressive.”

Barrier drained a triple to open the fourth quarter. Abby Fultz scored for Eastern but back-to-back basket by Barrier and a layup by Wise made it 50-28 with 2:04 left and Ironton’s backups finished the game.

Ironton 13 15 13 9 = 50

E. Brown 13 3 10 5 = 31

IRONTON (19-5): Lexi Wise 1 0 2-4 4, Taylor Hannan 0 2 0-0 6, Lexie Barrier 4 1 2-2 13, Sydney Webb 2 3 3-4 16, Cheyenne Scott 0 0 2-2 2, Jordan Hannan 0 0 0-0 0, D’Laynie Keith 3 0 1-3 7, Zakia Lee 1 0 0-1 2, Kenzie Ashley 0 0 0-0 0, Kaylin Easterling 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 17-48 10-16 50. 3-point goals: 6-14. Rebounds: 13-off. 17-def. = 30 (Barrier 7, Webb 6, Keith 4). Team rebounds: 2. Assists: 6 (Barrier 2). Steals: 11 (Barrier 4). Turnovers: 9. Blocked shots: 2 (Barriers, Scott). Fouls: 12. Fouled out: None.

EASTERN BROWN (19-5): Molly Prine 0 0 0-0 0, Lauren Towne 0 0 0-0 0, Allison Day 7 0 1-2 15, Kyndal Sowers 1 0 2-2 4, Mikayla Farris 1 0 0-0 2, Abby Fultz 2 1 0-0 7, Maggie Fultz 0 0 1-2 1, Whitney Broughton 1 0 0-0 2, Lindsey Malott 0 0 0-0 0, Jensen Sowers 0 0 0-0 0, Taylor Stamper 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 13-33 4-6 31. 3-point goals: 1-6. Rebounds: 6-off. 22-def. = 28 (Day 13, K. Sowers 6). Assists: a6 (Fultz 3, Prine 2). Steals: 4. Turnovers: 18. Fouls: 15. Fouled out: None.