PITTSBURG Iola girls basketball hung around with an aggressive and veteran St. Marys-Colgan team Tuesday night but couldnt muster enough offense to pull off the road win, falling 44-31.
The fifth-ranked in class 2A Lady Panthers came into the game locking in on defense, creating havoc for the Fillies who had trouble getting any consistency going on the offensive end of the floor.
They were more aggressive than what we thought, head coach Becky Carlson said. It just seemed that we could never get into the flow of the game.
The Fillies fall to 3-3 after the loss.
Despite Iolas offensive shortcomings, the Fillies really did play well defensively.
After an 8-0 run for the Lady Panthers, the Fillies locked down, preventing the talented, senior-laden Colgan girls from running their court.
After allowing 14 points in the first quarter and 13 in the second, the Fillies clamped down hard, allowing just two points in the entire third quarter.
Part of what led to that success was rebounding. The Fillies rarely let a Colgan defender have a second look at the bucket. Leading the way down on the block in that regard was senior Piper Moore who did not let the physical and at times bigger Lady Panther players affect her hustle and effort around the basket.
I dont know how many rebounds she had but she had a bunch, Carlson said. She was really very strong tonight. They wanted to be physical and aggressive and that really plays into how she wants to play the game.
While that suffocation kept Colgan at bay, the Fillies couldnt take advantage of it because they struggled to score.
The easy looks that the Fillies got bounced out for the most part and almost all outside shots were taken away by the more-than-competent Colgan defenders, leaving senior Ellie Carson who ended the night with a team-high 16 to carry most of the offensive load for the Fillies.
They came out and got after our shooters, Carlson said. They werent going to let us have any good looks from outside and that left Ellie open to get a lot of looks around the basket.
Heading into the fourth quarter, the Fillies trailed by only 10, 29-19, but turnovers cost Iola a chance at a comeback as once again, offensive consistency was nowhere to be found.
Id like for us to get better at handling pressure, Carlson said. When teams pressure us, if were patient enough, we should be able to take advantage and get some really good looks at the basket and thats not happening right now but I think well get there. Were still young in a sense as far as starting experience goes.
In addition to Carson, senior Madisyn Holloway had seven followed by four for Moore, two for sophomore Claudia Castellanos-Rodrigo and one for junior Kelsey Morrison.
The Fillies now head into winter break. Theyll return to action on Jan. 4 with a trip to Osawatomie.
These girls are real competitors and they want to win really bad, Carlson said. Well figure it out over Christmas break.
