Rocky Balboa would have been proud.

Knocked down twice with the momentum swinging the other way, the Ironton Lady Fighting Tigers got up off the canvas each time and came back to knock out the Logan Lady Chieftains 47-44 on Saturday to claim third place in the Southeastern Ohio Athletic League.

“Our girls played hard the whole game and I was proud of the way they battled back. They got down but never quit,” said Ironton coach Doug Graham.

“Logan is a good team and well-coached. They play good defense and they like to play physical. Our girls didn’t back down.”

Ironton lost at Logan on Thursday 48-32 to set up the SEOAL “Day of Champions” matchup.

Logan went up 15-9 in the second quarter on a 15-foot bank shot by Kristy Klingenbereg, but a three-point play by Mercedes Crockrel and two straight baskets by Alex Taylor tied the game at 16-16 with 2:33 to go in the half.

A layup by Lorna Ceaser and two foul shots by Cortney Rister put Ironton up 20-16 at the break.

“Cortney Rister and Emily Lilly did some nice things off the bench. They play their roles well. Cortney has played well in three or four games in a row. And Janie Morris gave us a real spark in the second quarter,” said Graham.

Logan went on a 6-0 run to start the second half to lead 22-20 and the Lady Chiefs were up 27-22 after a 3-pointer by Bailey Topf and later held a 33-27 advantage.

But in true “Rocky” fashion, Ceaser hit the Logan defense with two body shots — er, layups — as Ironton got within 33-31. Logan’s Meghan Hoffman and Ceaser then exchanged baskets and it was 35-33 at the end of the quarter.

Crockrel made a foul shot and then followed up her own missed shot to give Ironton a 36-35 lead with 6:21 to play.

Logan tied the game at 38-38 with 5:26 to go on a pair of foul shots by Topf, but Morris got a putback, Ceaser got a layup off a pass from Morris, and Crockrel had a putback of her own shot and Ironton was up 44-38 with 2:54 left.

Two foul shots by Katie Hoffman drew the Lady Chiefts within 46-4 with 12 seconds left, but Morris hit the front end of a one-and-one and it was 47-44 with 10 seconds on the clock.

Hoffman missed a 3-point attempt from the left corner and Crockrel yanked down the rebound to end the game.

Ceaser finished with 17 points and five rebounds. Crockrel had 13 points and 11 rebounds with Morris adding nine points, six boards and four assists for Ironton (14-6, 10-3).

“We felt we had an advantage inside and we wanted to take advantage of it,” said Graham.

Logan (12-8, 7-5) was led by Topf with 10 points.

Logan 10 6 19 9 = 44

Ironton 9 11 13 14 = 47

LOGAN (12-8, 7-5): Loryn Cassady 1 2 0-1 8, Kristy Klingenberg 1 1 0-0 5, Emilie Hughes 0 0 4-6 5, Katie Hoffman 3 0 2-4 8, Bailey Topf 2 1 3-4 10, Kati Klinger 1 0 0-0 2, Jenna Reynolds 2 0 1-4 5, Meghan Hoffman 1 0 0-0 2, Chelsea Evans 0 0 0-0 0, Abbie Linton 0 0 0-0 0, Stephanie Murphy 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 15-41 10-19 44. Fouls: 18. Fouled out: Topf (4th 0:19). 3-point goals: 4-12. Rebounds: 12-15=27 (Reynolds 5, Hughes 4). Assists: 8 (Reynolds 4). Steals: 9 (Cassady 4). Turnovers: 14.

IRONTON (14-6, 10-3): Mercedes Crockrel 5 0 3-6 13, Alex Taylor 2 0 0-0 4, Brea Tackett 0 0 0-0 0, Janie Morris 4 0 1-3 9, Lorna Ceaser 7 0 3-5 17, Cortney Rister 0 0 2-2 2, Emily Lilly 1 0 0-0 2. Totals: 19-45 9-16 47. Fouls: 18, Fouled out: Tackett (4th 0:21). Rebounds: 13-22=35 (Crockrel 11, Morris 6, Ceaser 5, Taylor 5, Tackett 4). Assists: 10 (Morris 4, Tackett 3, Lilly 2). Steals: 10 (Ceaser 3, Tackett 2, Crockrel 2, Taylor 2). Turnovers: 17.

RESERVES: Logan 40, Ironton 19.