The Iola High School girls basketball team picked up a pair of wins during their first preseason scrimmage Monday night.
With a 9-7 win over St. Paul and a 17-6 win over Erie, Iola coach Emily Sigg found her first experience on the court encouraging despite ending the evening with a 17-3 loss to Chanute.
“They had every reason to come out and be timid and shy,” Sigg said. “They didn’t. They were really aggressive, especially on defense. That was my biggest thing. If we can be aggressive on defense, then we should be OK.”
Throughout the evening, the Mustangs faced increasing pressure.
They began with the St. Paul Indians of the Three Rivers League, then faced off against another TRL foe in Erie, who recently dropped down to the TRL from the Tri-Valley League.
But when it came time to play the Chanute Comets of the Southeast Kansas League, the 4A school’s full-court press was too much for Iola’s young team.
“They’re so coachable. They’re excited and they want to learn,” Sigg said. “They have great potential. If you thought they weren’t nervous, they were. Just wait until they’re not nervous.”
Although ending the evening with a loss, the Mustangs ended the evening with more confidence.
Coach Sigg said some players were visibly nervous but as they acclimated to the court those jitters subsided. Freshman guard Hayden Desmarteau, who had a flurry of easy lay-ups off mid-court steals, was one of those players.
“My best strength is defense. I like to be aggressive,” Desmarteau said. “I try to get everything I can get. It’s hard to take that big step from middle school to high school. We were encouraging each other, which was hard, especially against Chanute.”
After seeing the potential of her younger teammates manifest on the court Monday, Iola junior guard Brooklyn Holloway is excited about getting the season underway Friday.
“We hustled. The first game, we were a little nervous but the second game our defense was on fire,” Holloway said. “We were getting touches. We were denying the ball. Our help was there. We were on fire in that second game.”
Iola’s only shortfall was in the finale against Chanute. The Comets flummoxed Iola with their full-court press and took advantage of Mustangs miscues.
Holloway feels the Mustangs adjusted and succeeded as the scrimmage continued, but the next time they see the press they will have a different response.
“It was our first night and that was a tough team going against us,” Holloway said. “I thought we brought it. We got that. We’re going to come back.”
With only Tuesday’s Gatorade Scrimmage and a few practices separating them from Friday’s season-opener against Anderson County, the Mustangs entered the contest in high spirits. Coach Sigg said there is plenty of time to improve before their debut, but she likes what she sees so far.
