LA CYGNE — What. A. Run.
Iola High’s Fillies unleashed a season’s worth of frustration Tuesday, putting together the mother of all hot stretches — 32 straight points — to capture their first win of the season.
By the time the dust cleared, an eight-point deficit turned into a 47-23 lead over host Prairie View.
The Fillies’ 50-33 romp also gives head coach Kelsey Johnson her first career victory.
“It’s definitely a relief,” Johnson said. “It was just nice to see the girls come together.”
The game started with all the earmarks of earlier frustrating losses.
The Fillies played well at the start, and were sluggish at times, as they stayed even with Prairie View through the first quarter.
An early lull in the second period allowed the Buffalos to take the advantage. Prairie View put together an 11-0 run, courtesy of a healthy dose of pressure defense and some hot shooting by Abby Kirkpatrick. She scored seven in the period propelling the Buffalos to a 23-15 lead with 5 minutes left in the half.
Here’s where the fun began. It was Prairie View’s turn to struggle against the press, with turnovers and hurried shots.
Iola’s Maci Miller and Aysha Houk both went 1-of-2 from the line before Lauryn Holloway scored on a putback to cut the deficit to 23-19. Becca Sprague got free inside with 3 minutes left, cutting the gap to two.
The next 2 1/2 exasperating minutes consisted of no field goals for either, and Iola converting 3 of 6 free throws, the last of which by Maci Miller put the Fillies in front, 24-23, with 18 seconds on the clock.
Houk followed with the shot of the game, a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to put Iola in front, 27-23.
Halftime did little stem the Fillies’ momentum.
Sprague and Holloway took over in the third period, combining to score 18 of the Fillies’ 20 points in the period.
“That’s what I’ve been waiting on,” Johnson said. “They do it in practice every day, but not in a game. They can take over, and they’re not scared to shoot. We need that out of our senior leaders, and that’s what they are.”
Meanwhile, Iola consistently prevented the Buffalos from getting across the half-court line, much less find quality shots.
“The guards at the top really took control,” Johnson said.
