Iola High’s girls were locked in on defense from the outset Friday.
The Mustangs held visiting Anderson County to two points through the first quarter and never allowed the visiting Bulldogs to do much of anything after that in a 40-19 victory.
Iola’s Harper Desmarteau drilled a pair of early 3-pointers to set the tone offensively, and wound up with a team-high 12 points. Zoie Hesse came off the bench to follow with eight.
THINGS weren’t as fortuitous for Iola in the boys contest. Anderson County’s Noah Porter overcame early foul trouble and scored 28 points — all coming in the final three quarters — as the Bulldogs rolled to a 68-46 win.
Iola led 9-8 after one quarter but the Bulldogs put together a 26-point second quarter to take a 34-24 lead into the break.
Iola’s Cortland Carson scored five points early in the third quarter to cut the deficit back into single digits, but Anderson County responded with a 13-6 run to put the game out of reach.
Carson led the Mustangs with 27. Matt Beckmon scored nine.
IN OTHER action, Humboldt’s boys and girls both opened with big wins at St. Paul. The Lady Cubs opened the 2024-25 season with a 55-39 victory. In boys play, Humboldt dominated early and cruised to a 78-38 win.
THE LOCAL schools head into a busy preseason tournament week starting Tuesday.
Iola will travel to Central Heights to take on Osage City to open the Ike Cearfoss Memorial Tournament. Humboldt is hosting its own tournament and will take on visiting West Elk.
