RICHMOND Iola Highs defense shined in its opener against West Franklin in the Central Heights tournament Monday night. West Franklin averaged only three points per quarter as the Fillies comfortably captured their first win of the season, winning 28-12.
On Friday, Iola held Anderson County to 16 first-half points, but the Bulldogs nearly doubled that amount in the second half due to key defender Becca Sprague entering foul trouble in the early goings. In Mondays game, the Fillies were relentless throughout, and it started with their 1-3-1 trap defense. Head coach Becky Carlson utilized her teams athleticism to cause frequent turnovers.
Our defense was great, Carlson said. We were intense, helped out, saw the ball the entire game, and did a really good job boxing out.
Scoring early and often for the Fillies was senior Elysia Kunkler, notching seven of her 12 points in the first period. Complementing Kunkler was fellow senior Kelsey Morrison, who chipped in three points to help Iola take a 10-5 first-quarter lead.
Becca Sprague started off the second period with an offensive rebound and put back to increase the Iola lead to seven. Gabby Richards elbow jumper and another 3-pointer from Kunkler helped Iola outscore the Falcons 7-2 in the second quarter. Iola cruised into halftime leading 17-7.
The Fillies continued to add to their lead despite not shooting at a high percentage. Sprague added four points along with a bucket from Kunkler to send Iola into the final period leading 23-10. Having Sprague out of foul trouble through all four quarters was a major boost for the Fillies on both ends of the court.
Becca means a lot to this team with her rebounding, and scoring, Carlson said. She, Lauryn Holloway and Gabby Richards were giving us the open shots because they were packing it in on the inside.
Iolas defense held West Franklin to two points in the final period to close out the victory. Carlson said she was also impressed by the performance of the entire Filly bench.
Ella Taylor, Gabby Lampe, Josie Plumlee, and Gabby Richards all came in and really helped us out, Carlson said. It helps us be more aggressive in our man-to-man defense when we know someone is going to be able to come in for a spell, giving others a rest.
With the win, Iola needs only one more to advance to the championship game of the Central Heights tournament. While the win is a step in the right direction, the Fillies still have room to improve.
We need to stay a little calmer in offense when they pick us up in man-to-man, but those things come with experience, Carlson said. Our goal is to get better every game, and I think we definitely did tonight.
BOX SCORE
Iola Fillies (10-7-6-5 28) (pts): Hannah Gardner 2, Kelsey Morrison 3, Lauryn Holloway 2, Elysia Kunkler 12, Becca Sprague 6, Gabby Richards 2, Josie Plumlee 1.
West Franklin Falcons (5-2-3-2 12) (pts): Lily Judd 2, Ally Hutchinson 1, Allison Swank 5, Brooke Flory 4.
