Grizzlies’ outburst downs Fillies

BURLINGTON — Labette County High was content to fire away from outside early on Friday against Iola High’s Fillies.
When the shots weren’t falling, the game was nip-and-tuck.
Iola’s Sydney Wade scored on a runner with 2 minutes left in the opening quarter to pull Iola to within 10-7.
But the Grizzlies’ sophomore standout Tristan Gegg took matters into her own hands.
The speedy Gegg drained three 3-pointers in the first quarter, and one more in the second.
She keyed a monster 31-2 run that put Labette County firmly in control of a 59-28 victory.
The loss, coming in the first round of the 2016 Burlington Invitational Tournament, drops the Fillies (4-6) into the consolation bracket, where they’ll play Independence today at noon at the Burlington Middle School gymnasium.
The tournament, postponed twice this week because of wintry weather, will wrap up Monday.
“They’re quick,” Iola head coach Becky Carlson said. “And they can shoot the ball. They were very effective when they needed to be.”
Labette County’s offense was keyed, Carlson said, by its defense.
“You make a pass that you think is there, and suddenly it’s not,” Carlson said.
The Grizzlies led 43-13 at the half.
Iola’s Toni Macha heated up in the second half, scoring eight of her team-high 14 points in the fourth quarter.
“Toni lit it up for us,” Carlson said. “She worked her heart out. Ashlie did a good job on our back-side defense. It was a hard game to play, but I thought our character showed in the second half. Our goal in the second half was to get better, and we did. We adjusted and did some things well.”
Labette County zipped out to an 8-1 lead before Macha and Ashlie Shields drained baskets. Wade’s shot capped a 6-2 Fillies run.
The Grizzlies responded with a 9-2 run over the last two minutes of the opening period.
Ashlie Shields added 5 points for the Fillies.
Gegg scored 20 of her 22 points in the first and second quarters. She went to the bench for good late in the third period. Erica Gartner added 10.
Iola (9-4-6-9—28): Wade 1-2-3-4, Riley 0-0-2-0, Murry 1-1-2-3, Shields 2-1-3-5, Lohman 0-0-1-0, Sell 0-0-1-0, Platt 1-0-1-2, Macha 6-2-2-14, Sutterby 0-0-1-0. TOTALS: 11-6-16-28.
Labette Co. (19-24-11-5—59) (FG/3pt): Gegg 3/4-4-0-23, Helig 0-0-1-0, Gartner 3/1-1-0-10, Burk 1/1-0-0-5, Woolfolk 0-0-1-0, Wilson 0-1-4-1, Hentzen 2-0-1-4, Dean 0-2-0-2, Reliford 2-0-1-4, C. Sorrell 4-2-3-9, A. Sorrell 0-2-0-2. TOTALS: 15/6-11-11-59.