Slow start too much to overcome for Lady Pioneers in district title game

Senior-Less Zane Trace ends successful season

The Lady Pioneers and their lockdown defense put the red, white, and blue in position late; however, a slow start and great Ironton FT shooting told the story in end.

A four-point first quarter and a five-point second quarter had Joe Dunkle and his Lady Pioneers facing a 22-9 score heading to the half; however, Zane Trace responded in the second half, holding Ironton to just two third-quarter points to trim the lead to three - thanks to an Erin Dailey triple as the third quarter horn sounded. Minutes later, it was Dailey again from three to give Zane Trace the lead 26-24 - the final time the Lady Pioneers would have the advantage as Ironton responded to win it, 36-28. The story down the stretch was the charity stripe. Ironton made 10 consecutive free throws in the final quarter to generate some offense that proved to be the difference. The big story in the loss was Zane Trace's effort on the defensive end. A week after holding Lynchburg Clay to 23 points, ZT was in lockdown form again. Credit goes to the Ironton defense as well for the job it did on ZT's Jess Roepke. Roepke enterd Saturday's title game averaging 12 ppg., but was held to just two points in the eight-point loss. When it came to offensive struggles, Roepke was not alone. Zane Trace as a team made only seven of the 45 shots they attempted from the field. The Pioneers also struggled at the line making only 10-of-18, while Ironton nailed 18-of-25 including the before mentioned 10 straight to secure the win. Leading the Lady Pioneers was Dailey with eight points, while fellow sophomore Sierra Sigman scored eight points as well. Zane Trace ends the season at 15-8. The Zane Trace roster does not have a senior on it meaning great expectations in 2010.

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