RICHMOND — When Iola opened its season against Girard fewer than two weeks ago, the offense couldn’t seem to find a rhythm.
Frantic shots and errant passes led to turnovers, which led to points for the Trojans, which led to more frantic shots and errant passes by the Fillies in an attempt to close the gap.
So when Iola jumped out to a 21-2 advantage over Central Heights on Tuesday, it looked like coach Becky Carlson fielded a completely different team than the one that put up just 28 points in the season opener.
The Fillies ended up routing the Lady Vikings, 45-16, in order to improve to 2-3 on the season.
“That’s what we’ve got to do, just make teams think there’s not a doubt that we can win,” Carlson said. “I felt like we did right away.”
Toni Macha and Ashlie Shields helped give Iola an early lead with their offensive output. Macha opened the game with 4 straight points before Shields rounded out the first quarter by adding 10 points.
After a Mikaela Platt basket and a Sydney Wade three-pointer, there was no doubt the Fillies were in control offensively out of the gate. But it was Iola’s defense that impressed Carlson.
“We played great defense,” the 10th-year Iola head coach said. “We knew who to stop. They really didn’t know what to do about that.”
Even after the break, the Lady Vikings seemed lost. The Fillies held them to just 3 points in the third quarter and zero in the fourth.
Meanwhile, Macha, Shields and the rest of Iola’s offense continued to pour it on. After taking a 25-13 advantage into halftime, the Fillies 20-3 run to close out the contest.
Shields led Iola with 16 points and Macha was just behind with 10 of her own. Although the senior and junior were the Fillies most effective scorers on Tuesday, Carlson said the beauty of her team is that the point production can come from anyone.
“That’s the nice thing about our team, you’re not going to know who to stop,” Carlson said. “One night, Sydney had 16 and Mikaela had 12. So you can stop one and somebody else steps forward.”
And even in the short amount of time between Tuesday’s victory and the season opener, Carlson said she has seen her team progress and evolve into a more successful group.
“I think we’ve just grown some confidence-wise,” she said. “And (we’re) learning to play together.”
BOX SCORE
Wade 1-2-1-5
Murry 0-0-1-0
Shields 6-4-1-16
Lohman 3-0-0-6
Sell 0-2-0-2
Platt 3-0-0-6
Macha 3-4-0-10
Sutterby 0-0-2-0
