The 15th-ranked Caney Valley Lady Bullpups came as advertised, defeating the Iola Mustangs 67-21 Thursday night.
Although Iola’s offense would pick up with an 11-point fourth quarter, the girls struggled to get their momentum going with only 7 points in the first half.
But knocking off a ranked, non-conference team is not the goal this week for Iola coach Emily Sigg.
“I don’t have anything to say about tonight’s game,” Sigg said. “I want the girls to learn from this and move on. Caney is not what matters to us. Tomorrow against Wellsville is what matters.”
With junior forward Zoie Hesse participating at the Aaron Patton Memorial Girls Wrestling Tournament in Wellsville, the Mustangs were a bit short-handed against the Lady Bullpups.
Freshman guard Haidyn Desmarteau accounted for all of Iola’s first-half points with a trio of buckets and a free-throw. She ended the evening with a team-leading 13 points, followed by junior guard Brooklyn Hollway and freshman forward Beighlynn Rutherford with 3 points each.
With the loss, the Mustangs fall to 3-8 overall. Iola looked to even its Pioneer League record to 3-3 with a win over Wellsville Friday. Results were not available at press time.
The Mustangs return to the hardwood Tuesday for the opening round of the War on 54 Basketball Tournament against Cherryvale. Tip-off is at 5 p.m.
