COAL GROVE - Life on the road is tough, but winning makes it a whole lot easier.

Things were tough for the South Point Lady Pointers Thursday, but getting a 54-48 Ohio Valley Conference road win over the Coal Grove Lady Hornets helped them breathe easier.

The Lady Pointers stayed in the thick of the OVC title chase with the win as they improved to 3-8 overall and 2-2 in the league.

"Any time you win on the road in the conference, you've done something," South Point coach Dave Adams said. "We didn't play that well, but Coal Grove is very much improved."

Three players scored in double figures for South Point. Jessi Craft led with 14, Alisha Bridges had 13 and Latisha Koukos 12.

Chelsea Markins had a game-high 17 points and Holli Swarts scored 16 for the Lady Hornets (7-4, 0-4).

Markins scored five points including a 3-pointer in the first quarter as Coal Grove took a 13-7 lead.

But South Point outscored Coal Grove 16-6 in the second quarter to take a 23-19 lead at the break.

Bridges and Craft scored six points each in the third quarter to keep the Pointers up 37-36. Swarts had six points to keep the Lady Hornets close.

Koukos had half of her points in the fourth quarter while the Lady Pointers connected on 5 of 7 from the line. Markins and Swarts combined for 10 points of Coal Grove's 12 points in the quarter.

In the reserve game, South Point won 29-17 as Missy Wheeler scored 11 points and Vanessa Rogers eight. Lisa Cordle had seven for Coal Grove.

South Point7161417-54

Coal Grove1361712-48

SOUTH POINT (3-8, 2-2):

Jessi Craft 4 0 6-8 14, Alisha Bridges 5 0 3-4 13, Latisha Koukos 6 0 0-2 12, Elisha Joyce 1 0 2-3 4, Whitney Woody 1 0 1-4 3, Summer Malone 1 0 0-0 2, Amy Frasure 1 0 0-0 2, Jamie Moore 1 0 2-2 4. Totals: 20

(0)

14-23

54. Fouls: 18. Fouled out: None. Rebounds: 25 (Bridges 8, Koukos 6). Turnovers: 18. Assists: 9 (Koukos 4, Craft 3). Steals: 17 (Bridges 7, Frasure 5).

COAL GROVE (7-4, 0-4):

Holli Swarts 5 0 6-6 16, Jill Lovejoy 0 0 2-2 2, Tracy Tackett 1 0 3-4 5, Maggie Young 2 0 0-0 4, Chelsea Markins 2 3 4-5 17, Tiffany Wallace 2 0 0-1 4. Totals: 12

(3)

15-18

48. Fouls: 16. Fouled out: Young.