Jim Walker
jim.walker@irontontribune.com

LUCASVILLE — Hey big sis, look what I can do.
Before the season, Ironton’s two-time All-Ohio standout Lexie Arden suffered a season-ending knee injury and robbed the Lady Fighting Tigers of a huge offensive scoring chunk.
Well, baby sister Kameren Arden proved there’s another shooter in the house as she drained three huge 3-pointers to help Ironton beat the Northwest Lady Mohawks 43-31 on Wednesday in the Division III sectional tournament.
Ironton coach Doug Graham told his players during practice this week that the Lady Tigers have had a history of different players stepping up and making big plays in tournament play. Kameren Arden became the latest.
“Kamer Arden came up and hit some big shots for. It looked good. The form and footwork was what we teach.,” said Graham.
“But all the girls played well. Haylee Stevens played really good defense. Sophie Caines stepping up and taking that charge at the end of the second quarter was big. You can go down the list and it seems like everyone kept making big plays.”
Ironton (11-12) will now play Lynchburg-Clay at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday in the sectional finals. The 16th-ranked Lady Panthers beat Portsmouth West 65-27 as Peyton Scott scored a score-record 45 points.
“Payton Scott is one of the best players in Ohio. She signed with Miami of Ohio for a reason,” said Graham.
Ironton had a balanced offense with Riley Schreck, Samantha LaFon and Arden all scoring nine points while Stevens added seven.
The Lady Tigers forced 18 turnovers and held a 37-24 rebound advantage. LaFon had eight rebounds while Schreck, Lydia Hannan and Elli Williams had five each.
Keirah Potts had nine points — all from the foul line — and Haidyn Wamsley seven points to pace Northwest (9-14).
Stevens buried a 3-pointer to start the game as Ironton went on a 7-0 run and never trailed. The lead was 10-5 at the end of the quarter.
Schreck fed LaFon for a layup and then LaFon hit a foul shot as Ironton took a 19-8 lead with 2:12 left in the half.
Northwest got within 21-15 after five straight points by Wamsley, but Arden drained a trifecta just before the end of the half for a 24-15 lead.
Stevens hit another trey that had Ironton up 27-19 in the third quarter only to have the Lady Mohawks cut the deficit to 27-22 on a layup by Ava Jenkins.
But Arden stepped up again with back-to-back triples and it was 33-22 to end the quarter.
A 3-pointer by Jenkins cut Ironton’s lead to 35-30 but LaFon had a layup, Williams and Schreck had free throws and Schreck’ putback opened the lead up to 41-30.
Northwest 5 10 7 9 = 31
Ironton 10 14 9 10 = 43
NORTHWEST (9-14): Valerie Eury 0 1 0-0 3, Haidyn Wamsley 3 0 1-1 7, Keirah Potts 0 0 9-12 9, Avan Jenkins 1 1 0-0 5, Sydnie Jenkins 0 0 0-0 0, Reagan Lewis 1 0 0-0 2, Skylar Patty 0 0 0-0 0, Chloe Montgomery 2 0 1-3 5. Totals: 9-34 11-16 31. 3-pt goals: 2-11. Rebounds: 5-O, 19-D = 24 (Jenkins 6, Montgomery 6). Assists: 3. Steals: 8 (Eury 3). Turnovers: 18. Fouls: 14. Fouled out: None.
IRONTON (10-12): Riley Schreck 3 0 3-4 9, Samantha LaFon 4 0 1-3 9, Lydia Hannan 1 0 0-0 2, Ellie Williams 2 0 1-2 5, Kameren Arden 0 3 0-0 9, Haylee Stevens 0 2 1-2 7, Jada Rogers 1 0 0-0 2, Abigail Patterson 0 0 0-0 0, Sophie Caines 0 0 0-2 0. Totals: 16-50 5-12 43. 3-pt goals: 5-16. Rebounds: 16-O, 21-D = 37 (LaFon 8, Schreck 5, Williams 5, Hannan 5). Assists: 6. Steals: 5. Turnvoers: 11. Fouls: 13. Fouled out: None.