LACYGNE — Emma Piazza’s last second, halfcourt heave as time expired wasn’t enough to send the Fillies to double-overtime. Instead, Iola High lost to Prairie View 52-49 in a hard-fought — albeit sloppy at times — overtime contest on Thursday night.
In order to get to the first overtime, Iola had to stage a comeback. In the third quarter, the Fillies were down by as many as eight points at 30-22.
“We just didn’t start out very intense and we couldn’t get our shots to fall, which is more frustrating for them,” coach Becky Carlson said. “When we started cranking the defense up, then we got some steals. We just couldn’t get them away.”
The Fillies did complete a full comeback to tie the score at 41-41 in the fourth quarter with 2:10 left in the game. Sydney Wade had a steal and sure to be easy layup, but the ball hit the rim and didn’t go in. Luckily, Emery Driskel followed Wade, scooped up the rebound and scored on the putback.
The Fillies were trailing for the entire game up until Driskel’s shot. Prairie View didn’t go away and answered with two free throws by the Buffalos’ Kammie Davis. Iola tied it up at 43 with 1:17 left in the game. Wade tossed a stretch pass to Driskel for the open layup.
Only 20 seconds later, the Fillies secured their first lead of the game. Ashlie Shields was sent to the line and made one of two free throws to give Iola the 44-43 lead. But, with 29.9 seconds left, Davis hit one of two free throws to tie the game for the Buffalos.
Iola had the ball for what seemed like the last shot. However, Wade drove to the hoop with 19.8 seconds left and missed. Prairie View ended up getting the final chance to win.
The Buffalos’ gave the ball to Davis. With time winding down, she shot the ball a foot inside the top of the key. The ball hit the rim and bounced out. An extra four-minute overtime period was needed.
Prairie View started with the first five points to take a 49-44 advantage with 2:04 left. On Iola’s next possession, they got on the board.
Driskel was fouled shooting and sent to the line. She missed both free throws and a comeback looked gloomy. Iola’s Mikaela Platt made a heads up play, grabbing the rebound and making the putback. The Fillies trailed 49-46 with 1:45 left.
Prairie View’s Davis was sent to the line again, where she made one of two free throws to give the Buffalos the 50-46 lead with 1:02 left.
Instead of getting a measly two-points, Piazza took the wide open look from 3-point range. Of course, she swished it and Iola trailed by one with 46.8 seconds left. It was Iola’s first and only 3-pointer of the game.
With about 30 seconds left, Prairie View’s Bayleigh Boone was fouled. Instead of only making one free throw, which seemed to be a trend in the fourth quarter and overtime thus far, she made both. The Buffalos now had a 3-point lead with 31.4 seconds left, winning 52-49.
On Iola’s next possession, the Fillies lost the ball on a pivotal jumpball call. Instead of getting upset, Iola turned around and tied the ball up and caused another jumpball. The Fillies had the ball with 12.1 seconds left, after Carlson used a time out.
On the inbounds, Piazza took a quick 3-pointer, this time bouncing off the rim and into Wade’s hands. Stepping back on the baseline, Wade shot for the tie. The ball missed and Prairie View recovered. With 4.6 seconds left, the Buffalos’ Sidney Snyder was fouled. She missed both free throws, giving Iola one last chance.
With no timeouts, Piazza was thrown the ball. With time expiring, she threw up a halfcourt shot. With no timeouts, Iola had no other choice. The ball hit the backboard and the buzzer sounded, signaling the end of the game and a tough Iola loss.
