It’s not hard to find the key to victory for Iola High’s girls Friday.
The Fillies were relentless on the defensive end, stymieing visiting Girard’s offense from the opening tip to the final buzzer.
It’s a bit harder — or impossible — to single out one or two players as the key contributors, head coach Becky Carlson said after Iola’s 34-28 victory.
“Everybody who was in there came up big for us,” Carlson said. “Our defense allowed us to apply constant pressure, and even though our shots weren’t falling, nobody hung their heads.”
And when the Fillies’ shots finally started falling down the stretch, it was all Iola needed to claim the win.
The key sequence came early in the fourth quarter after Girard had taken its only lead of the second half, 21-20.
Mikaela Platt drained a jumper with about 6 1/2 minutes remaining to push the Fillies back on top. An offensive foul on the Trojans gave possession back to Iola, which led to Sydney Wade’s pass inside to Addie Haar for an easy bucket.
Girard’s Morgan Herlocker cut the deficit to one with a pair of free throws before Wade found Kyra Moore open just outside the 3-point line. Moore’s trey was true, giving Iola a 27-23 lead.
“A huge shot,” Carlson said.
“It was inbound play,” Moore said. “I was glad it went in. It allowed everybody to relax a bit.”
The next trip up court was just as nice.
Platt followed Moore’s 3-pointer with one of her own. Suddenly a Fillies team that had struggled scoring all night held a 30-23 lead with 3 1/2 minutes left.
The Trojans got no closer than five points from there, courtesy of Iola’s swarming defense, which forced consecutive traveling calls on Girard at one point.
Meanwhile, Wade went 5 of 6 from the line the rest of the way to keep Iola safely in front.
“We’ve been working on our defense a lot,” Moore said. “We knew we’re going to be better than last year. We’re really coming together as a team.”
Defenses on both sides ruled the roost early. Iola held a 6-4 lead after one quarter. Platt’s 3-pointer early in the second period gave Iola a 9-4 lead before Girard responded with a 7-2 run to pull even at 11-11. The teams were knotted at 14-14 at the break.
Emery Driskel scored twice in the first two minutes of the third quarter when Iola’s offense fell silent. Several shots were just off as Iola went without a point over the last 5:50 of the quarter.
But the Fillies defense allowed Girard only two field goals, both coming from offensive rebounds and putbacks. The Trojans led 21-20 at the end of three, setting up Iola’s game-ending flourish.
Haar and Platt each had 10 points to lead Iola. Haar also had five steals. Emery Driskel followed with seven points and four rebounds. Wade had three steals and eight assists to go with her five points.
Carly Heatherly led Girard with eight points.
Girard prevailed in the junior varsity game, 38-32. Wade and Taylor Sell each scored eight to pace the Iola JV.
The Fillies won the C team contest, 17-10. Riley Murry led the way with eight points, while Toni Macha and Alexis Heslop each scored four. Jadyn Sigg scored one point.
Iola heads to Baldwin Tuesday to begin play in the Bulldog-Wildcat Preseason Tournament. The Fillies will play Chanute in the opening round.
Girard (4-10-7-7—28)
Iola (6-8-6-15—35)
Girard (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Hanson 0-0-4-0, Augustine 1-0-1-2, Nepote 0-0-2-0, Gray 0/1-1-1-4, Johnson 1-0-2-2, Jones 1-1-4-3, Heatherly 2/1-1-3-8, Leslie 1-0-2-2, Ray 2-1-2-5, Herlocker 0-2-0-2. TOTALS: 8/2-6-21-28.
IOLA (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Wade 0-5-2-5, Long 0-0-1-0, Moore 0/1-2-3, Piazza 0-0-1-0, Endicott 0-0-1-0, Haar 5-0-3-10, Platt 2/2-0-1-10, Driskel 3-1-4-7.
Late outburst propels Fillies
