PARSONS — Intensity is a driving force in athletics.
Iola High’s Fillies just didn’t have the level they needed Tuesday night in a non-league contest with host Parsons High’s Vikings. The Viking girls outscored the Fillies 20-1 in the final eight minutes to win going away, 50-23.
Iola dropped to 2-3. The Fillies finish out their pre-Christmas schedule Friday at Independence, playing in the new Independence High gym.
“We weren’t as intense tonight as we usually are and we just didn’t seem to have a lot of confidence in running our offense. Defensively, I thought we were alright,” said Becky Carlson, Fillies head coach. “The difference in the game was our lack of rebounding.”
Iola opened the game with a basket from Lisa McFadden but fell behind 6-3. Kendra Taiclet had a put-back basket and a free throw, then Kelsey Larson made a steal and scored to tie it 8-8.
The Vikings were up 12-8 after one quarter of play. McFadden had a basket and tossed down two free throws. Iola was within two, 14-12. Taiclet nailed a three-pointer to give the Fillies a 15-14 lead at the 4:58 mark of the second quarter.
That was the last lead Iola had. Parsons went on a 9-2 run to end the first half. The Fillies faced a 23-17 halftime deficit.
Kelsey Adams’ follow shot began the third quarter. Larson, who battled foul trouble all night, sank one of two free throws to make it 25-20 with five minutes on the clock.
Iola got no closer but was still in the game at the end of three quarters. Lauren Toney connected for two, making it 30-22.
Then Parsons powered its way to the big win in the fourth quarter run.
“We had good looks at the basket but couldn’t get them to drop. They were outrebounding us at both ends. We got one shot at it and they got two to four shots,” Carlson said. “Our initial stop was good but they were bigger than we are and got the rebounds.”
The Fillies shot 24 percent, 8 of 33, from the field. They downed 6 of 12 free throws.
Parsons had 18 field goals and two three-point field goals in the game. The Vikings hit 8 of 14 free throws.
Taiclet finished with eight points, six rebounds and three assists. Larson had four steals. Iola had just 12 rebounds in the game. The Fillies turned the ball over 16 times.
Parsons (2-1) got 13 points from Taylor Kemp, 12 from Kiralyn Mosier and 10 from Sawyer Woodworth.
