Losing six seniors hurts. The Iola High girls basketball team found out just how much it hurts during its season opener against Girard on Friday night.
Lacking crucial experience at the varsity level, the young Fillies stumbled out of the gates in the 2015-2016 campaign and lost 49-28 to the Trojans at home.
“We just need to be a little more patient,” coach Becky Carlson said. “We needed to settle down and run our offense a little bit.”
But early turnovers made it difficult for Iola to get into any sort of rhythm on the offensive end of the floor. By the end of the night, the Fillies had 21 giveaways.
And when Carlson’s squad did have opportunities to shoot the ball, it struggled to find the bottom of the net. As a team, the Fillies shot 8-of-40 from the floor, including 2-of-8 from three-point range.
“They rattled us a little bit from the start,” Carlson said. “It’s hard to gage where we’re at because that is a really good team, and I didn’t feel like our true potential showed tonight.”
Carlson added that she expected to see some bumps in the road this early in the year as many of the girls are competing at the varsity level for the first time.
But the 10th-year head coach at Iola was able to spot a
few bright spots.
Ashlie Shields scored a team-high 8 points while Mikaela Platt was just behind with 6 points on the night. The senior duo not only gave the Fillies a spark on offense, but they also brought their leadership to an otherwise youthful team.
“They really stepped up and played well,” Carlson said of Shields and Platt.
Some underclassmen were also able to showcase their talents despite Iola’s losing effort. Players like Colbi Riley, who is a sophomore, garnered praise from Carlson.
And although the Fillies didn’t get the results they wanted entering the season opener, they were able to see how they stack up against a senior-heavy team like Girard.
“I’m glad we started with that team,” Carlson said.
Fillies lose 49-28 to Girard
