There was no hesitation on Kelsey Adams’ part Thursday night. A teammate passed her the basketball, she squared up just outside the three-point arc and buried the shot.
Adams’ three put Iola High’s Fillies up 36-33 with — well, there was some dispute on how much time was left but the game officials decided to put five seconds on the clock. Independence High’s head coach Dale Reynolds had called a timeout as the ball went through the hoop.
The Fillies and visiting Bulldogs were locked in a Southeast Kansas League battle on the final night of the regular season. Iola had a three-point lead with 5.9 seconds left in regulation. The Bulldogs hit a three at the buzzer to tie it 30-30 to force a four-minute overtime period.
Iola missed 5 of 6 free throw attempts in the overtime but still had a 31-30 lead with just over a minute to play. Kelsey Larson sank two free throws at the 54.3-second mark.
Independence’s Anna Hignight drove in, scored and was fouled. She tossed in the free throw to knot the game at 33-all with 34 seconds on the clock.
The Fillies were patient working for a final shot. And they got one from Adams. So they thought but they had to play defensive five more seconds.
The Bulldogs didn’t get a good look at the basket and the Fillies ended their long association with the SEK with a 36-33 win.
“Kelsey Adams set her feet and hit a great shot for us,” said Becky Carlson, Fillies’ head coach. “We played good defense all night.
“Independence is a team that just won’t go away. They are much like we are in that regard.”
The Fillies closed out with two big wins this week to go 5-3 in the SEK and finish fourth. They are 9-11 overall.
“A great way to end the regular season and to finish the SEK. We are fourth and that’s better than the seventh that we were picked to finish at,” Carlson said.
Iola’s attention turns now to Monday’s Kansas Class 4A Substate Tournament opener. The Fillies play an all-too-familiar foe — the Chanute High Blue Comets — at 7 p.m. Monday at the IHS gym.
Adams and Larson along with fellow seniors Kendra Taiclet, Lauren Toney and Lisa McFadden had the Fillies lead 10-3 by the 5:05 mark of the second quarter.
It appeared the Fillies were ready to pull away from the Bulldogs. Independence turned the tables and led 11-10 at halftime.
“They (Independence) do a good job of taking you out of your flow offensively. We got a little frustrated but at the end when the game was on the line, our girls regained their composure,” Carlson said.
