LOUISBURG — When the Iola High girl’s basketball team closed out its first quarter against Baldwin High on Friday night with just 4 points on the scoreboard, it appeared as if offense would be at a premium for the young Fillies squad.
But the scoring gradually improved as the contest wore on to the approval of coach Becky Carlson. Unfortunately for Iola, the scoring was just a little too gradual and wasn’t enough to come away with a victory in the Louisburg Tournament third-place game.
The Fillies fell 57-43 to the Bulldogs on Friday night to leave them at 1-3 on the young season.
Unlike Tuesday night when Iola was able to erase an 11-point deficit in the second half to earn a comeback victory against Louisburg, the Fillies weren’t able to shut down the Bulldogs long enough to make a significant run.
At times throughout the game — mostly in the second quarter — Iola went on spurts where it would score 4 or 6 unanswered points. But because Baldwin was able to jump ahead early in the contest and go up by as much as 18, the Fillies simply faced too large of a hole and couldn’t climb out in time.
But Carlson’s team didn’t go out without a fight.
After a first half that saw Iola make it to the free throw line just four times, the Fillies became much more aggressive following the break and made it to the line an additional 19 times.
Players like Sydney Wade and Mikaela Platt used their speed to get in the lane and force fouls while taller players like Riley Murry used their size in the lane to create problems.
In all, the Fillies went 15-for-23 from the charity stripe. The team’s effectiveness at scoring when the clock was stopped was critical to its comeback effort.
However, Iola’s scoring from the floor couldn’t match its success from the line.
As a squad, the Fillies shot 13-for-34, including just 2-for-9 from beyond the arc. And as a result of Iola’s poor shooting performance, Baldwin was able to pile on at certain times throughout the game — especially early.
In the first quarter, the Fillies sunk just two field goals in eight tries. The Bulldogs, on the other hand, consistently found their groove offensively in order to take third place at the tournament.
Fillies fall in 3rd-place game
