It’s been an all too familiar story for Iola High’s girls.
The Fillies struggled out of the gate Monday, notching only a single field goal in each of the first two quarters against visiting Burlington.
And while Iola’s defense was plenty stout early, Burlington was able to forge ahead in the second quarter and never look back in a 42-24 victory.
The loss keeps Iola winless in the midst of their busiest stretch of the season, with seven games in 11 days.
“I definitely think they’re frustrated,” Fillies head coach Kelsey Johnson said. “They’re trying to dig in and figure out what they can do.”
The frustration stems from leadership, she continued. When her seniors get down on themselves, the rest of the team follows suit. “Same thing goes for me, too. If I’m down, the entire team is down. We have to just stay as positive as we can.”
Neither team did much early. Sidney Shelby’s jumper midway through the first quarter provided Iola’s only points of the period.
But the Fillies were just as stout, holding Burlington to four free throws.
But the Wildcats found their footing in the second quarter, putting together a 10-4 run to take a 14-6 lead. Josie Plumlee’s runner early in the second quarter was Iola’s field goal in the quarter.
Shelby’s inside bucket early in the third quarter closed the deficit to 16-11, but Burlington took advantage of the Fillies’ turnover bug to put together an 11-0 run to seal the win.
Unofficially, Iola turned the ball over 10 times in the quarter and 22 times for the game.
“Turnovers have been our story,” Johnson said. “The same thing goes with our third quarters.”
Plumlee led the Fillies with five points, while Shelby scored four.
Madison Coursen scored 13 for Burlington.
Iola fell, 18-16, in the junior varsity contest. Aysha Houk, Maci Miller and Jenna Curry each had four points. Keira Fawson and Sage Barney notched two apiece.
With such a hectic schedule, Iola has little time to mope. The Fiillies play at West Franklin tonight.
“With a quick turnaround, we just have to clean it up,” Johnson said.
