GARNETT — A quick start did not translate into a victory for Iola High’s Fillies Tuesday, losing 30-27.
Coming back off the holiday break, Fillies’ head coach Becky Carlson thought her team was ready to pick up where it left off in December. They had a win on the road.
And it appeared Carlson was right. The Fillies led 11-2 over their hosts, Anderson County High’s Lady Bulldogs. But a 12-point halftime lead faded under the second-half energy brought to the court by the Lady Bulldogs.
Anderson County whittled away at the lead. It was down to a six-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter for Iola. Then on a 10-2 run, the Lady Bulldogs had a 25-23 lead.
Senior guard Kelsey Larson drained a three-pointer to give the Fillies a 26-25 lead. Kelsey Adams, another senior, hit the front end of a one and one.
Anderson County’s Jaime Mersman tied the game at 27-27 then sank one of two free throws with 41 seconds left to put the Lady Bulldogs back on top 28-27.
“When Lauren (Toney) put up the shot at the end I thought it was going in,” Carlson said.
The shot did not fall.
The Lady Bulldogs controlled the rebound and scored a basket at the buzzer for the final margin.
“We didn’t do what we needed to do to win the game. We have to have some of our other players step up and score for us,” Carlson said. “We didn’t have the intensity in the second half and we didn’t execute on the press-break or on offense.”
The loss dropped Iola to 3-4. They Fillies look forward to two home games — Friday against Girard and next Tuesday Fort Scott comes into the IHS gym.
Larson scored 18 of Iola’s 27 points and fellow senior Kendra Taiclet added six. Larson and Taiclet each cleared six rebounds. Larson had four steals and two assists and Taiclet had two steals.
Using defense to ignite the offense, the Fillies pushed out to an 11-2 lead by the end of the first quarter. Larson scored on back-to-back steals and had a three-point play on one.
Adams and Taiclet added a basket apiece in the run. A putback by Taiclet at the 7:20 mark of the second period had Iola up 13-2.
The Fillies saw an 18-6 halftime lead disappear. The Lady Bulldogs used defensive pressure to get back in the game in the second half.
