RICHMOND — It would have been easy to start moping.
After struggling mightily from the field in their season-opening loss three nights earlier, Iola High’s Mustang girls were in a similar dilemma against Central Heights Monday evening.
Iola had only three points after one quarter and 12 at halftime against the Vikings.
But the tide slowly shifted.
Mustang freshman Zoie Hesse began connecting from the inside, teammate Harper Desmearteau hit a key 3-pointer late in the third quarter and suddenly the shots began falling.
Iola ended the game with a 15-3 run to cruise to a 33-21 win in the first round of the Ike Cearfoss Memorial Tournament.
Iola (1-1) returns to action at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at Central Heights to take on Lebo in semifinal action. A win there would give the Mustangs a shot at the tournament title Saturday.
“It feels good to get a win right now,” Iola head coach Kelsey Johnson said. “That’s the nice thing about our team. It can be anybody’s night at any time.”
Iola had plenty of good looks early on.
Post players Reese Curry and Keira Fawson worked to get clean looks inside, but just as occurred in Friday’s loss to Anderson County, many of those shots rimmed out.
Iola’s defense kept things tight from the get-go.
The game was knotted at 3-3 after one quarter, and a quick flurry of points — seven in the span of 30 seconds — allowed Central Heights to take a 14-12 lead at the break.
“That’s what carries us — our defense,” Johnson said.
Hesse came off the bench to give Iola a second-quarter spark, scoring seven of the team’s nine points.
The game went back and forth for much of the third quarter, until Desmarteau’s trey in the final minute of the frame snapped an 18-18 deadlock.
