jocelyn@iolaregister.com
BURLINGTON — Iola High’s Fillies paid for playing a flat first half Saturday afternoon. On the line was fifth-place at the 2011 Burlington High Invitational.
Paola High’s 1-2 punch of Annie Keelser and Courtney Johnson had the Panthers in front of the Fillies 15-3. They scored 12 of the points in that first quarter.
The Fillies couldn’t recover. Paola led 29-14 at halftime and maintained in the second half. The Panthers snatched fifth place with a 49-34 victory over the Fillies at Burlington Middle School.
“We came out flat and Paola shot the ball very well in the first half. We were getting good looks but not knocking the shots down,” said Becky Carlson, Fillies’ head coach. “As well as they were shooting — hitting three threes — and the shots not falling for us, we got a bit frustrated and pushed things a bit.”
Carlson was pleased with her team’s play in the second half. The Fillies scored the opening seven points of the third quarter. Kayla Callahan scored twice, then Ken-dra Taiclet had a three-point play.
It was 29-21 with 6:09 left in the period. Mackenzie Hallstrom nailed her second three-point field goal of the game and sank a free throw to help the Panthers stop the Iola run.
The Fillies were within striking distance, 37-26, going into the fourth quarter. Remick Paulsen scored for Paola but Toni Taylor drilled a trey for Iola, making it 39-29 at the 7:11 mark.
That’s when Kessler and Johnson stepped back in to the fray. They scored three straight baskets on putbacks.
“We have to do a better job of getting rebounds. We play good defense and they miss a shot. That could have been three stops and three baskets for us at the other end,” Carlson said.
Taiclet, who was named to the all-tournament team, fired in 13 points and had three steals for Iola. Kelsey Larson dished out five assists and claimed six rebounds. Taylor had five assists.
“We’re seeing players starting to emerge. Toni played very well defensively and made some key shots. Carly hit two threes and is finding her role on the team. Without Maggie (Wilson, out with foot injury), we’ve seen some roles shift,” Carlson said.
Keeler finished with 15 points and Johnson had 12 for Paola.
The Fillies are 6-5 on the season. They travel to Fort Scott (5-6) for a non-league make-up game, postponed from Jan. 11.
Iola steps into Southeast Kansas League play Friday at Coffeyville.
Iola (6-8-12-8—34) (FG/3-pt): Larson 0-0-2-0, Taiclet 5-3-0-13, Taylor 1/2-1-0-9, Callahan 2-0-3-4, Mulsow 0/3-0-0-6, McGuffin 1-0-3-2. TOTALS: 9/4-4-8-34.
Paola (15-14-8-12—49) (FG/3-pt): Harris 0/1-0-0-3, Paulsen 1-1-0-3, Hallstrom 2-1-1-7, Golubski 2-1-3-5, Farmer 2-0-2-4, Johnson 4/1-1-1-12, Kessler 7-1-1-15. TOTALS: 16/4-5-8-49.
Fillies finish sixth in tourney
