BURLINGTON Everybody deserves a second chance.
However, Iola High Fillies head coach Becky Carlson wasnt too thrilled with the second chances Burlington kept getting on offense Friday evening.
The host Wildcats corralled a few too many offensive rebounds for Carlsons liking, leading to a litany of second-chance points.
The extra shots helped Burlington break open a close game far enough that Iolas attempts for a comeback turned up too little, too late.
The Fillies dropped to 5-9 with Fridays 48-40 setback.
The rebounding really was key, Carlson said. If we couldve rebounded in the first half, it probably would have been a little different.
Burlington took the lead for good in the second quarter, although the Fillies kept things close until untimely turnovers and, yes, more offensive rebounds, allowed Burlington to pull away in the second half.
The Wildcats Kirsten Young was the main beneficiary, drilling a pair of 3-pointers and scoring 10 points as Burlington turned a 22-19 halftime margin into a 42-25 lead by the opening moments of the fourth period.
We let that third quarter slip away, Carlson said. We were cold, and we had a little trouble with their press.
On two occasions, the Fillies had open looks at the basket, but either hesitated with their shots, or hurried the attempt and missed.
When you play Burlington, Carlson said, sometimes you cant believe youre that open.
But the Fillies refused to go quietly into the night.
Claudia Castellanos Rodrigos pesky defense translated into Burlington turnovers. She scored early in the period to cut the gap to 12, before Lauryn Holloway connected twice for the Fillies.
Her second bucket with 3:35 left cut the gap to 10.
Castellano Rodrigo then pulled in a nifty steal and reverse layup just outside the 1-minute mark, and nearly had another theft, but she fell out of bounds before she could find an open teammate.
Her bucket with 35 seconds left cut the gap to eight, but Iola had committed only three fouls up to then. Burlington was able to move the ball around on offense before the Fillies could commit enough fouls to send the Wildcats to the line.
