Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

LOGAN — If the Ironton Lady Fighting Tigers were standing on a cruise ship, they still couldn’t have hit the ocean with a basketball.

Shooting a dismal 17.3 percent, Ironton fell to the Fort Frye Lady Cadets 36-26 Wednesday in the Division III regional semifinals.

The Lady Tigers did what they wanted for the most part except for making shots. Ironton forced 22 turnovers but were unable to capitalize as they missed easy shots.

“We missed some shots early and you could see it had an affect on our confidence,” said Ironton coach Doug Graham.

“You had to think that at some point the shots would start to fall, but they never did. I can’t complain about our defense. The girls played hard.”

Neither team shot well the first quarter as Fort Frye took a 4-2 lead.

The game was tied 7-7 on a steal and layup by Taylor Hannan, but the Cadets closed the half with an 8-0 run to lead 15-7.

The Lady Tigers came out the second half and scored 11 unanswered points. Lexie Barrier hit a shot to make it 15-13 and Sydney Webb drained a 3-ball and Ironton was up 16-15 at the 5:38 mark.

Cheyenne Scott scored off an inbounds play that gave Ironton an 18-15 lead, but the Lady Cadets went on another 8-0 run — six by Alexis Enochs — as Fort Frye took the lead for good at 25-19.

Jordan Hannan rebounded an air ball and scored just before the buzzer and Ironton trailed 25-21 to end the third quarter.

“It was a very physical game and it made it tough to score,” said Graham. “Fort Frye is a veteran team with good size and they’ve been to the regionals three times in the last four years, so they know what to expect in these types of games.’

Enochs scored inside and then took a pass from Katie Hart for a layup as Fort Frye went up 29-21.

Barrier drained a trifecta with 4:40 left, but Ironton would managed just two free throws by Barrier the rest of the game.

The Lady Cadets converted 7-of-11 free throw attempts down the stretch as they began to pull away.

Barrier had 11 points and eight rebounds to lead Ironton. Jordan Hannan had seven rebounds.

The 6-foot-1 Enochs had 13 points and seven rebounds for Fort Frye. Makayla Liedtke also had 13 points and five rebounds while 5-11 Megan Liedtke grabbed 12 rebounds.

Ironton ends the season 19-6 and loses only one senior — Taylor Hannan.

“This is a fun bunch to watch and coach. Regardless of the outcome, this group always works hard. We’ve got a lot of girls back and we’re hoping to take it even further next year,” said Graham.

Fort Frye (24-3) will play Fairland at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in the regional finals.

Fort Frye 4 11 10 11 = 36

Ironton 2 5 14 5 = 26

FORT FRYE (24-3): Michelle Adkins 0 1 0-0 3, Katie Hart 0 0 0-2 0, Alexis Enochs 5 0 3-4 13, Tanner Booth 0 0 0-0 0, Makayla Liedtke 4 0 5-6 13, Megan Liedtke 2 0 3-5 7, Karisa Lang 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 12-28 11-17 36. 3-point goals: 1-6. Rebounds: 38 (Me. Liedtke 12, Enochs 7, Hart 5, Ma. Liedtke 5). Assists: 5 (Hart 3). Turnovers: 22. Fouls: 13. Fouled out: None.

IRONTON (19-6): Taylor Hannan 1 0 0-0 2, Alexis Wise 0 0 2-2 2, Lexie Barrier 2 1 4-7 11, Sydney Webb 1 1 0-1 5, Cheyenne Scott 2 0 0-2 4, Jordan Hannan 1 0 0-0 2, D’Layne Keith 0 0 0-0 0, Zakia Lee 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 9-52 6-12 26. 3-point goals: 2-21. Rebounds: 30 (Barrier 8, J. Hannan 7). Assists: 4 (Wise 2). Turnovers: 11. Fouls: 20. Fouled out: None.