Fillies fall to No. 5 Girard

GIRARD — Scoring runs are a part of the game of basketball.
In a game of back-and-forth scoring runs Friday night, Iola High’s Fillies weren’t able to match Girard High’s Lady Trojans.
The Kansas Class 4A fifth-ranked Lady Trojans opened on a 5-0 run and the Fillies couldn’t catch up, falling 48-38. The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for Iola (5-3) as Girard improved to 6-0.
Each time the Fillies pushed to within three or two points coming from a 7-2 start, the Lady Trojans protected the lead. The Fillies outscored the Lady Trojans 11-6 in the third quarter to pull within three.
It was 30-27 heading into the fourth period. Girard protected its lead by sinking 11 of 12 free throws over the final eight minutes. The Lady Trojans cashed in on 19 of 24 charity tries for the game.
“We had a lot of good looks at the basket throughout the game but couldn’t finish our shots tonight,” said Becky Carlson, Fillies’ head coach. “Girard played well and we didn’t rebound the ball as well as we have been.”
Iola was within two points for the first time at 12-10 early in the second quarter after Kendra Taiclet and Kayla Callahan had back-to-back baskets.
Girard came back with six unanswered points. The Lady Trojans kept the Fillies at bay in the second quarter, 13-10, for a 24-16 halftime advantage.
Iola trailed 27-18 with junior point guard Kelsey Larson sitting on the Fillies’ bench with four fouls just over two minutes into the second half. The Fillies picked up the pace with Toni Taylor and Callahan opening a 8-3 run with back-to-back baskets.
Kirstin McGuffin hit one of two free throws which was matched by Girard’s Jordan Davied. Iola’s Carly Mulsow and Callahan had baskets to get Iola to within three, 30-27.
The Fillies had the basketball but turned the ball over with 20 seconds left in the period. Girard had an 11-4 run in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter and sealed the win at the free-throw line.
Maggie Wilson had two threes in the fourth quarter to push her point total to 12 for the Fillies. Callahan had 10 points from the inside for Iola. The Fillies were 2 of 7 from the line.
Danica Kelly led Girard with 13 points followed by Kenzie Dunlap with 12 and Kylie Kunshek with 11.
Girard won the junior varsity game 40-34 with Iola getting 12 points from Keli Lee. Iola lost the freshman game 36-15 as Paige Miller scored eight points for the Fillies.
Iola travels to Fort Scott Tuesday.
Iola (6-10-11-11—38) (FG/3-pt):  Larson 1-1-5-3, Taiclet 2-0-2-4, Taylor 1-0-0-2, Wilson 3/2-0-4-12, Callahan 5-0-3-10, Mulsow 2-0-0-4, McGuffin 1-1-3-3. TOTALS: 15/2-2-17-38.
Girard (11-13-6-18—48) (FG/3-pt): Dunlap 0/2-6-0-12, Pierce 0/1-0-0-3, Kunshek 3-5-4-11, Herlocker 1-2-2-4, Davied 1-3-0-5, Kelly 5-3-1-13. TOTALS: 10/3-19-7-48.