Jim Walker
jim.walker@irontontribune.com

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.
The opening line of “A Tale of Two Cities” could easily be re-written as “A Tale of Two Halves” as far as the Ironton Lady Fighting Tigers are concerned.
Ironton was doing everything right in the first half. The Lady Tigers shot 43 percent, had eight turnovers and held the high-scoring Ashland Kittens offense to just 14 points.
Then came the second half as Ironton shot a mere 17 percent and was guilty of 12 turnovers.
The extra offensive chances helped Ashland rally in the second half and post a 44-30 win over Ironton on Monday.
Ironton (6-2) finished the game shooting just 31 percent as the Lady Tigers scored just nine points in the second half.
A layup by Lexi Wise and 3-point goals by Riley Schreck and Lexie Arden staked Ironton to an 8-2 lead. Ashland tied the game at 8-8 on a 3-pointer by Julia Parker to end the quarter.
But Ironton began go pull away on a steal and layup by Wise, a short jumper by Arden, and a layup and three-point play by Wise to open up a 21-12 lead.
Mykassa Robinson hit a layup as Ashland cut the deficit to 21-14 at the break.
But then came the worst of times.
A putback by Ellie Williams gave Ironton a 26-17 lead. Ashland then went on a 12-0 run to end the quarter including a 3-pointer by Mirada Martin at the buzzer as the Kittens took their first lead at 29-26.
It didn’t get any better in the fourth quarter as Ironton made only one-of-9 shots. A layup by Wise made it 32-28 and two foul shots by Arden cut the deficit to 34-30.
Ashland (6-1) then scored the final 10 points of the game.
Wise had 12 points and six rebounds while Arden had nine points and eight rebounds to lead Ironton.
Ashland was led by Parker with 18 points including four 3-pointers. Morgan Bradley had 10 points as she hit two 3-pointers. The Kitten was 7-of-20 from the arc.
The Kittens’ Mykassa Robinson — who is averaging almost 15 points a game — was held to six points, her lowest output of the season.
Ironton will host Greenfield McClain at 6:30 p.m. on Friday in the second game of The Classic.
Ashland    8    6    15    15    =    44
Ironton       8    13    5    4    =    30
ASHLAND (6-1): Morgan Bradley 2 2 0-0 10, Emma Fulton 1 0 0-2 2, Julia Parker 3 4 0-0 18, Mykassa Robinson 3 0 0-2 6, Miranda Martin 0 1 1-3 4, A.J. Johnson 1 0 2-5 4, Sarah Rymer 1 0 2-5 4, Jada Miller 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 17-41 3-12 44. 3-pt goals: 7-20. Rebounds: 7-O, 21-D = 28 (Robinson 10). Team rebounds: 3. Turnovers: 12. Fouls: 13. Fouled out: None.
IRONTON (6-2): Lexi Wise 5 0 2-5 12, Riley Schreck 2 1 0-0 7, Ellie Williams 1 0 0-0 2, Katie Boyer 0 0 0-0 0, Lexie Arden2 1 2-4 9, Haylee Stevens 0 0 0-0 0, Lilly Zornes 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 12-39 4-10 30. 3-pt goals: 2-10. Rebounds: 8-O, 18-D = 26 (Arden 8, Wise 6). Team rebounds: 2. Fouls: 12. Fouled out: None.