Iola High coach Luke Bycroft knew if his boys basketball team was going to have a chance at beating Prairie View on Thursday, they would need a good practice under their belts.
The Mustangs (3-3) practiced hard on Wednesday and showed up ready to play on Thursday when they took down the Buffalos of Prairie View, 61-41. The Iola girls (1-5) weren’t so fortunate in their matchup as they fell behind big in the second half in a 40-29 loss.
Girls Basketball
The Iola girls kept it a close game in the first half but couldn’t hold on and make enough shots in the second in the 11-point loss to Prairie View.
The Mustang defense held tight in the first half, limiting the Buffalos to 15 points.
In the first quarter, Aysha Houk went for a pair of layups and a free throw. Kaysin Crusinbery also added a two-point basket.
“We make it a point that we can’t have just one person scoring for us, it has to be a team effort,” said Iola interim head coach Ali Peters. “We did a better job tonight getting the ball to our posts and they were able to turn and make some moves. Our shots just weren’t falling. We had really good looks at the basket but they just weren’t going in.”
The Buffalos were led by Abby Kirkpatrick’s pair of early three-pointers in the first quarter, giving Prairie View a slight lead. Maddi Baker also went underneath for a layup and a free throw.
The Buffalos led 13-7 heading to the second quarter.
Iola got four points in the second quarter from Houk and Keira Fawson and played great defense, limiting Prairie View to one basket, a two-pointer by Baker.
Iola trailed Prairie View at halftime, 15-11.
The Mustang defense hurt them in the third quarter when they allowed the Buffalos to score 13 points, including a pair of three’s delivered from KJ Gregg. Baker also added a pair of layups and Kally Stroup put up a two-pointer to extend Prairie View’s advantage.
“We definitely had more momentum in the first half. I don’t think we necessarily backed off as much as they started making a lot of shots,” Peters said. “Unfortunately, our shots just weren’t falling on offense so it made it look like they were doing more than we were.”
Fawson went for a layup and Houk knocked down a couple free throws for the only Iola points of the third quarter. Iola trailed Prairie View heading to the fourth, 28-15.
The Mustangs outscored the Buffalos, 14-12, in the fourth quarrer but it wasn’t enough. Houk was fouled and hit five free throws, Karington Hall hit a couple of two-pointers and a pair of free throws and Fawson went for another layup.
