Thursday’s first half was the best version of the 2016-17 Fillies’ basketball team.
The second half was the best version of Wellsville freshman guard Demi Aamold.
The combination of the two halves resulted in a 52-43 win for Wellsville, the first-place team in the Pioneer League.
“We can play with anybody,” Carlson said. “We have to put them away in the second half, but we are as good as anyone we play.”
Iola senior Toni Macha got her team rolling early with the first four points of the game and Sydney Wade kept that momentum going.
“They have played together so long that they see each other really well,” Carlson said of her senior duo.
After Wellsville tied it at four, Wade hit a three pointer. A put-back shot by senior Della Lohman and a baseline jumper by Wade in the closing seconds of the first quarter put the Fillies up 11-6 after eight minutes of play.
The confidence and electricity in the gymnasium continued to build throughout the second quarter.
Again Macha got the team going with a basket to open the quarter.
After two Wellsville foul shots, Wade got a steal and took it coast-to-coast for a lay-up. She then lined up a three-point shot from the left wing that kissed off the backboard before swishing the net to build the advantage to 18-8 midway through the second quarter.
The lead bounced between eight and ten for the rest of the half and another Wade jumper made it 25-15 at halftime.
Wade finished the first half with 12 points and the entire team was playing excellent defense against the explosive Eagles’ offense.
“We did a good job of helping and we stopped the shooters,” Carlson said. “It was as good of defense as we could have played and I don’t know if they expected that out of us.”
The second half began well for the Fillies as they maintained the 10-point margin at 30-20 after a Macha foul shot.
Then the sleeping giant woke up and Wellsville quickly showed why it is unbeaten in Pioneer League action.
The Eagles went on a 11-0 run with 10 of those points coming from Aamold.
