Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

PROCTORVILLE — The score said it all. This one was about defense.

In a game where the defense dominated, the Fairland Lady Dragons remained unbeaten as they escaped the Ironton Lady Fighting Tigers’ upset bid 40-38 on Monday.

“They did a good job defensively taking away Terra. But we held them to 38. We’ve played good defense in three straight games,” said Fairland coach Jon Buchanan.

Fairland (10-0) was just 17 of 61 from the field for 28 percent including 2 of 12 from the 3-point line.

Terra Stapleton had 12 points to go with 15 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. Kelsey Riley had 11 points and 8 assists.

Ironton made 17 of 47 shots for 36 percent including 3 of 11 from behind the arc. Lexie Washington scored 12 points and Lexie Barrier had 11 points.

Karlee McMackin and Alicia Murphy grabbed 9 rebounds each as Ironton out-rebounded Fairland 44-36.

“The girls followed the game plan pretty well,” said Ironton coach Doug Graham. “We had three or four breakdowns on defense that hurt us, but I can’t fault our effort. The girls played hard.”

Fairland led 10-8 after the first quarter and 17-16 lead in the half. Barrier drained a trifecta at the buzzer to put Ironton up 19-17 at the break.

The Lady Tigers came out and took a 25-17 lead to begin the second half, but Fairland rallied to tie the game at 27 and then they took a 31-29 lead at the end of the quarter.

The game was tied 33-33 when Kayla Perry came up with a steal and layup and Chandler Fulks followed with a 3-pointer with 2:30 left as Fairland opened up a 38-33 lead.

“We didn’t shoot well, but we made some big plays when we needed them,” said Buchanan.

Stapleton sank two foul shots for a 40-33 lead and a little more than a minute to play, but Ironton refused to quit.

Fairland missed a one-and-one and Murphy hit a basket. The Lady Dragons turned the ball over and Murphy nailed a 3-pointer with 24 seconds left and it was 40-38.

Fairland again missed the front end of a bonus free throw attempt and Ironton had a chance to tie the game. But a missed layup by Barrier with three seconds left enabled Fairland to escape with the win.

“I’ll take the ball in Lexie Barrier’s hands any time. It was a tough shot. When you go inside, they’ve got a 6-4 girl (Stapleton) standing there who blocks shots, so it’s not as easy as it looks,” said Graham.

“Our girls have grown up a lot. They never panicked or got flustered. Fairland has a good team and we played them tough on their floor.”

Buchanan was proud of his team for rising to another challenge.

“I felt Ironton was playing its best ball coming into the game. We know we are going to get everyone’s best shot. I’m proud of our girls’ effort,” said Buchanan.

On Thursday, Ironton hosts Boyd County while Fairland entertains rival Chesapeake in an Ohio Valley Conference game.

Ironton 8 11 10 9 = 38

Fairland 10 7 14 9 = 40

IRONTON (10-4): Lexie Washington 6-14 0-0 0-0 12, Lexie Barrier 4-5 1-3 0-0 11, Ariel Schweickart 1-1 1-3 0-0 5, Karlee McMackin 1-7 0-0 0-0 2, Alicia Murphy 1-6 1-4 0-0 5, Taylor Hannan 0-0 0-1 1-2 1, Macy Wise 0-1 0-0 0-0 0, Alana Martin 1-2 0-0 0-0 2. Totals: 17-47 1-2 38. 3-point goals: 3-11. Rebounds: 44 (McMackin 9, Murphy 9). Assists: 11 (Barrier 5). Steals: 5 (Barrier 3). Turnovers: 20. Blocked shots: 1 (Barrier). Fouls: 14. Fouled out: None.

FAIRLAND (10-0): Terra Stapleton 5-13 0-0 2-2 12, Kayla Swiger 0-1 0-1 0-0 0, Chandler Fulks 2-2 1-4 1-3 8, Mackenzie Riley 0-8 0-0 0-2 0, Mariah Chaffin 1-4 0-1 0-0 2, Kelsey Riley 5-10 0-1 1-2 11, Caitlin Stone 0-3 1-3 0-1 3, Taylor Perry 2-8 0-2 0-0 4. Totals: 17-61 4-10 40. 3-point goals: 2-12. Rebounds: 36 (Stapleton 15, M. Riley 6). Assists: 11 (K. Riley 8). Steals: 7 (Perry 2). Turnovers: 9. Blocked shots: 3 (Stapleton 3). Fouls: 7. Fouled out: None.