By Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

COAL GROVE — Dear God, I pray for patience and I want it right now.

That brief prayer was something the Coal Grove Lady Hornets needed in the third quarter on Monday when they got away from what they were doing right but quickly returned to that plan as they held off the Zane Trace Lady Pioneers 55-45 in the Division 3 sectional tournament.

Coal Grove was up 16 points at halftime but saw the lead shrink to just 4 points before pulling away late.

“We played good defense and we ran our offense well to create good shots in the first half,” said Lady Hornets’ coach Nick Miller.

“In the second half, we weren’t patient on offense and we were taking quick shots that weren’t falling and Zane Trace got hot, especially Chloe Heshiser. But they had to foul at the end and we hit our free throws.”

With the win, Coal Grove (10-13) plays Minford at 8 p.m. Saturday at Northwest in the sectional finals.

Emma Lively hit a pair of 3-pointers and Alivia Noel had a trey and a foul shot as Coal Grove took a 14-7 first quarter lead.

Aubree Thomas hit a 3-pointer and foul shot and Chloe Heshiser had 3 points to account for the Lady Pioneers total.

Kendall Taylor scored 7 points in the second quarter as Coal Grove extended its lead to 26-10 at the half.

Haylynn Boggess-Pierce had a 3-pointer for Zane Trace’s only points in the quarter.

Kinsy Keeney, Noel and Taylor all had 4 points in the third quarter as each team scored 16 points and the lead was 42-26.

Heshiser hit a 3-pointer and scored 11 points and Carlie Clark also had a trey as the Lady Pioneers offense came alive.

The Lady Pioneers were forced to foul in the fourth quarter as they rallied to get within 4 points with under 2 minutes to play.

But Keeney converted 8-of-10 from the foul line and Noel was 1-of-2 as the Lady Hornets held on for the win.

Emma Houston had a 3-pointer and scored 7 points, Heshiser 4 and Maddie Will hit a 3-pointer as Zane Trace rallied and outscored Coal Grove 19-13 in the four quarter but fell short.

Kenney led Coal Grove with 15 points. Taylor had 13 points and Noel scored 12.

Heshiser had a game-high 18 points for the Lady Pioneers.

Zane Trace 7 3 16 19 = 45

Coal Grove 14 12 16 13 = 55

ZANE TRACE (3-19): Carlie Clark 1 1 0-2 5, Chloe Heshiser 6 1 3-4 18, Halynn Boggess-Pierce 0 1 0-0 3, Brynn Snavely 1 0 0- 2, Aubree Thomas 0 1 2-5 5, Maddie Will 0 1 0-0 3, Lily Rose 0 0 0-0 0, Emma Houston 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 11 6 5-13 45. Fouls: 18. Fouled out: Thomas.

COAL GROVE (10-13): Kendall Taylor 6 0 1-4 13, Kinsy Keeney 2 0 11-14 15, Kasey Vanderhoof 1 0 0-0 2, Alivia Noel 1 2 4-8 12, Isabella Kitts 0 0 0-0 0, Jenna Anson 3 0 1-2 7, Klara Klaiber 0 0 0-0 0, Abbie Deeds 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 13 4 17-28 55. Fouls: 11. Fouled out: None.