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| Register/Jocelyn Sheets Iola High’s Kayla Callahan (24) gets fouled by Chanute High’s Dani Bagshaw on this shot late in Tuesday’s game with Iola’s Kirstin McGuffin (32) and Chanute’s Jordan Wiltse (25) coming on the backside. Iola pulled out a 37-35 win over visiting Chanute. |
With balance and focus Tuesday night, Iola High’s Fillies avenged an earlier thumping by archrival Chanute High’s Blue Comet girls.
The Fillies worked from the opening tip to the final buzzer with steady resolve in front of a home crowd. Even trailing 33-28 with 6:31 left in the game, Iola did not panic.
Maggie Wilson scored her lone basket of the night for Iola. Lyndsi Faulhaber netted her second three of the night to tie the game.
Iola had a 9-2 run in that final six and a half minutes to win 37-35. Chanute had rolled over Iola 58-26 in December in their first meeting in Southeast Kan-sas League play.
“I told the girls we needed to be as aggressive on offensive as we are on defense. We’ve been playing great defense in our games lately and we’ve lost so many games like this,” said Becky Carlson, Iola High’s head coach.
“Tonight, you could tell our girls did not want to lose this one. They didn’t let things get them down when we missed a shot or a call didn’t go our way.”
Carlson said she was most pleased with the balance they had on the team offensively. Faulhaber, who set the game’s tone off the tip, hit a three-pointer.
“It relaxed everybody. We didn’t hit all of our shots but we never had one of those long lulls,” Carlson said. “Lyndsi hit some big shots tonight.”
Iola did not have a player score in double figures. What the Fillies had was eight players log game time and all scored between two to eight points.
Faulhaber led the Fillies with eight and Kelsey Larson, who played most of the fourth quarter with four fouls, had seven points.
Jazmyne Honeycutt ended with six points and five rebounds.
“Kayla Callahan and Kirstin McGuffin are very solid defensively for us and battle on the boards,” Carlson said.
The victory improved Iola’s SEK mark to 3-9 and the Fillies are 5-11 overall. Chanute dropped to 7-4 in league play and 9-6 overall.
Iola led 4-2, then Chanute scored five unanswered. Kendra Taiclet tagged the net for a foul shot and Larson tied the game at 7-7 with 30 seconds left in the first quarter.
Shelby Greenwood made a bounce pass to Taiclet under the basket for two points to open the second quarter.
Chanute’s Ali Aylward got back-to-back baskets. Larson fired in a three to give Iola a lead, 12-11. The Comets got up 15-12 when Honeycutt dropped in a follow shot for Iola.
Taiclet hit a baseline jumper to make it 17-16. Iola gained the basketball with 24.2 seconds left and Cha-nute knocked it out of bounds under Iola’s basket at 5.9-second mark.
Greenwood came down the lane, took the inbounds pass and scored.
Iola had an 18-17 halftime lead.
Faulhaber began the second half similar to the game. She hit a jump shot for two not three. McGuffin pushed Iola’s led to 22-17.
The Fillies were up 25-22 midway through the period but Chanute scored five straight. Honeycutt scored to make it 28-27. Brooke Sharp put the Blue Comets back on top 29-28 with a final shot.
The Fillies had possession of the ball coming out for the fourth quarter. They turned it over. That’s when the Comets built their 33-28 lead.
“We just knuckled down and played well at both ends. I think this was our best possession ball game of the season. We hit shots and played defense. We scrambled for loose basketballs,” Carlson said.
Mackenzey Sutcliff sank two free throws for Chanute at the 1:50 mark. That made it 37-35. Neither team could down free throws from that point.
Aylward scored 15 points for Chanute. Wiltse had seven.
Iola shot 34 percent, 15 of 44, from the field as Chanute went 14 of 43, 33 percent, The Fillies went 4 of 11 at the free-throw line while the Blue Comets were 6 of 13.
Parsons comes to Iola Friday for IHS homecoming.
The Fillies’ junior varsity won 27-25. Lisa McFadden and Callahan each had six points.
Chanute won the freshman game 43-17. Keli Lee scored 14 points for Iola.
Iola (7-11-10-9—37) (FG/3-pt): Faulhaber 1/2-0-1-8, Larson 2/1-0-4-7, Taiclet 2-1-0-5, Wilson 1-0-0-2, Greenwood 1-1-1-3, Honeycutt 3-0-0-6, Callahan 1-0-3-2, McGuffin 1-2-3-4. TOTALS: 12/3-4-12-37.
Chanute (7-10-12-6—35) (FG/3-pt): Bagshaw 0-0-4-0, Sutcliff 0-2-0-2, Sharp 1/1-0-3-5, Aylward 7-1-2-15, Gard 1-0-0-2, Wiltse 3-1-2-7, Keal 1-2-0-4. TOTALS: 13/1-6-11-35.
