RICHMOND — Iola High’s girls knew they were in for a tussle Friday against Olathe’s Heritage Christian Academy.
The Chargers are at their best when they are ultra-aggressive in order to pressure their opponents into making mistakes, Iola interim head coach Emily Sigg explained.
“We knew they were aggressive, which is usually not our forte,” Sigg said.
But on Friday, the Mustangs were able to parry every Heritage Chrsitian thrust.
Iola was particularly effective down the stretch, after Heritage Chrsitian had made up a nine-point deficit to tie the game early in the fourth quarter.
Mustang sophomore Zoie Hesse led the way, scoring six straight points in a critical stretch as Iola brought home a 48-41 victory.
The win, in the fifth-place game of the Ike Cearfoss Memorial Tournament, gives Iola a 3-1 record.
“It feels good to be 3-1,” Sigg said. “It’s been a while.”
The game followed a similar pattern throughout, with Iola getting the early advantage before Heritage Christian slowly clawed its way back to threaten the lead.
Hesse hit four early free throws and Elza Clift drained a 3-pointer in the second quarter as the Mustangs pulled ahead 17-11 late in the second quarter before the Chargers made it a three-point game at halftime.
Iola senior Reese Curry stepped up early after the break, scoring three backs in the first half of the third quarter to help the Mustangs take a 23-15 lead. Hesse followed with a 3-point play, a putback and a pair of free throws to make it 30-21 late in the third.
But Heritage Chrsitian responded with an 11-2 run, capped by Luciano Prado’s putback with about 6 minutes left in the game to knot the score at 32-32.
Harper Desmarteau responded with a steal and a pair of free throws to push Iola back ahead. Alana Mader then hit the first of two free throw attempts to make it a three-point lead. She missed the second, but Hesse was there for the putback, and suddenly the lead was back to five. Two more Desmarteau free throws capped a 7-0 Mustang run.
Heritage Christian didn’t go away quietly. Hailey Stapleton drained a 3-pointer, and Ella Grower scored on an inbound play to pull the Chargers back to within 39-27 with about 4 minutes left.
But the Mustangs beat Olathe Heritage’s pressure defense on their next possession, leading to an easy layup from Hesse. Then, after Heritage Christian missed, Mader and Hesse served up a carbon copy of their earlier scoring combo. Mader hit a free throw and then missed the second, only to see Hesse corral the rebound and score on the putback. Suddenly the lead was back to 46-37.
