Fillies notch SEK win over Tigers

Home sweet home.
Iola High’s Fillies made the most of being on their home court for the first time in over a month. The Fillies trailed only once here Friday night in a 46-36 win over Fort Scott High’s Tigers.
Kelsey Larson got the Fillies started with three layups off steals. Kayla Callahan took over the game in the second quarter when Iola faced foul trouble.
Callahan scored 10 of Iola’s 12 points in the second quarter. She had back-to-back three-point plays to push the Fillies to a 23-15 halftime lead.
“This was a great win. It was a total team effort. We got contributions from everyone who played,” said Becky Carlson, IHS head coach as the Fillies notched their first Southeast Kansas League win in three games.
“We just needed a home game and a strong start. Defensively, we played very well.”
Callahan led all scorers with 17 points plus had six of Iola’s 16 steals. She also had four rebounds and two assists.
“Kayla and Kirstin (McGuffin) played very well inside. They were getting their hands on the basketball and Kirstin had some big offensive rebounds,” Carlson said.
And the “nat” was back. When Iola lost to Fort Scott in January, senior guard Maggie Wilson was injured. Friday night Wilson’s quickness paid off defensively in combination with Larson out front.
Larson had five steals and Wilson had three. What Carlsonpointed out was the Fillies got great minutes for Toni Taylor, Lauren Toney, Carly Mulson and Kelsey Adams off the bench.
“It didn’t matter who was in there for us,” she said.
Fort Scott crawled back in the game after being down 8-2. A basket by Katren Rienbolt gave Fort Scott its only lead of the night, 11-10 with 40 seconds left in the first quarter.
Wilson was fouled at the buzzer. She hit one of two free throws to rge an 11-11 tie.
Callahan’s putback at the 5:46 mark of the second quarter got the Fillies back in front. Larson and Kendra Taiclet were saddled with three fouls and on the Iola bench.
Mulsow hit a jump shot to kickstart the Iola offense again, 16-12. Callahan had the next seven points for the Fillies.
Wilson’s quickness produced the opening basket of the third quarter. She ran down a loose ball and sprinted to the basket, made a jump-stop to let a defender fly by and she hit the short jumper.
Sidney Maycumber had a three-point play for Fort Scott then Taiclet, Larson and McGuffin had baskets for the Fillies.
Iola led 33-20 at the 5:04 mark.  Maycumber led the Tigers’ rally to 33-34. Callahan came away with a steal and Taylor drilled “a big three for us,” Carlson said.
The Fillies were up 37-26 going into the fourth quarter. Iola fended off Fort Scott down the stretch hitting 7 of 13 foul shots.
McGuffin sank three and Wilson one in the final 24 seconds to ice the game.
Larson finished with 11 points, six rebounds and three assists for Iola. The Fillies shot 44 percent, 15 of 34, from the field and downed 15 of 29 free throws.
Maycumber scored nine for Fort Scott. The Tigers hit 10 of 21 free throw.
The Fillies are 1-2 in SEK play and 7-8 overall. Fort Scott is 2-2 and 8-8.
Iola travels to Columbus Tuesday in league play.
Fort Scott won the junior varsity game 47-16. Lisa McFadden scored five for Iola.
Iola (11-12-14-9—46) (FG/3-pt): Larson 4-3-3-11, Taiclet 1-0-3-2, Taylor 0/1-0-1-3, Wilson 1-2-3-4, Callahan 6-5-5-17, Mulsow 1-2-2-4, McGuffin 1-3-4-5. TOTALS: 14/1-15-21-46.
Fort Scott (11-4-11-10—36): H. Tourtillott 0-0-2-0, M. Allen 0-0-2-0, M. Tourtillott 2-0-3-4, Rienbolt 3-0-2-6, Shelton 2-0-3-4, K. Allen 1-0-3-2, Maycumber 3-3-1-9, McDermed 0-1-1-1, Campbell 0-2-4-2, Lawrence 2-4-3-8. TOTALS: 13-10-24-36.