RICHMOND Iola Filly head coach Becky Carlson doesnt know a lot about her team early in the season, but after their season-opening 45-41 loss to Metro Academy in the opening round of the Ike Cearfoss Tournament at Central Heights High School on Monday, she knows one thing: theyre tough.
They just battle and battle and battle, Carlson said. Theyre on the floor and theyre aggressive. And where that really showed was rebounding. For as big as they are, we did a great job blocking out and rebounding.
Metro came into the tournament with an 8-1 record. Because the Mavericks are not a part of KSHSAA, they started their season roughly a month ago. The Shawnee Heights-based private school was taller than the Fillies and likely more talented in places but that didnt stop Carlson and her team from putting a scare into their opponent Monday night.
The Fillies battled with the Mavericks throughout the entire first half, trailing by only four after the first quarter and tying things up at 14 midway through the second.
Metros shots, however, started to fall and a 7-0 run to end the second quarter turned into a 14-0 run that carried past halftime and into the third quarter, putting them up 28-14 with 3:37 to play in the quarter.
It seemed like we just werent as aggressive going out and meeting our passes, Carlson said. In the first half I felt like we gave good ball fakes and we moved the ball well. When we came out of the locker room after halftime, we became a little stagnant and then once we woke up again we were back in it.
The Maverick coaches pulled their starters once it seemed like things were in control for them and thats where the Filly comeback began.
A 6-0 run sparked by sophomore newcomer and Spanish foreign exchange student Claudia Castellanos-Rodrigo led to a 6-0 Iola run which got the Fillies back within five points.
In the fourth quarter, Iola cut the lead to 33-32 with 4:48 to play and just two minutes later, a bucket from senior Madisyn Holloway tied things up at 38.
I didnt even realize it that so close until I looked up, Carlson said. I just enjoyed how hard they played and how well they worked together.
Holloway went to the charity stripe on the next position and her free throw gave the Fillies a 39-38 lead with 1:48 left in the game but after that the Metro starters had returned to floor and they started to creep ahead and distance themselves, closing the game out on a 7-2 run to secure the win.
Senior Ellie Carson led the way offensively for the Fillies with 14 points followed by Castellanos-Rodrigo who had 11. Holloway had six, senior Shaylee Sutterby had three, senior Piper Moore, senior Kassy Shelby and junior Kelsey Morrison each had two points and sophomore Becca Sprague had a point.
I think we have a lot of girls that can score, Carlson said. I felt like everyone who got in the game really contributed tonight.
With the loss, the Fillies move the left side of the bracket and will face Central Heights on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Carlson is anxious to see how her team will respond..
What I told them was I dont like to accept losing, Carlson said. But I was excited to see how we played. It was a good game and there was a lot of effort. We just have to come out and do that every game now.
