WELLSVILLE — A sterling performance from Iola High’s Reese Curry led the Iola High girls to their second straight victory.
Curry poured in 21 points and made several key plays from start to finish, including a game-sealing block in the waning seconds as Iola topped host Wellsville, 59-55, Friday evening.
She and teammates Keira Fawson and Alana Mader controlled the interior for much of the game, as Iola withstood a pair of furious Wellsville comebacks in the second half.
The first came midway through the third quarter, when Wellsville erased an 11-point deficit. The Eagles’ Savannah Viets and Alana Green both hit 3-pointers, and Viets’s driving layup put Wellsville on top 42-40.
Iola responded with a 13-0 run to take the lead for good.
Fawson’s 3-point play on Iola’s next possession, followed by her putback at the third-quarter buzzer pushed Iola ahead, 45-42. Iola retained possession to start the fourth period, which led to a short jumper from Curry to make it a five-point game. Mader and Curry scored on putbacks on Iola’s next two possessions, and a pair of Elza Clift free throws had Iola ahead, 53-42.
Wellsville still made things interesting in the final 90 seconds.
Green hit four straight free throws, as Iola committed back-to-back turnovers, and Viets turned a steal into a layup, and suddenly Iola’s lead was 58-55 with 49 seconds left on the clock.
But Iola was able to work the ball around the perimeter for the better part of 35 seconds. The Eagles put Clift on the line for a pair of free throws. She hit one, making it a 4-point lead with 15.4 showing.
Green blazed a path for the IHS basket, with the hopes of converting a layup to make it a one-possession game. But that path — and Green’s layup attempt — were both blocked by Curry with under 10 seconds left.
Iola snared the ball, and was able to run out the clock.
Green (25 points) and Viets (21 points) paced the Eagles in scoring.
