Iola High School’s Mustangs extended their winning streak to three games after holding on despite an unexpected challenge from the 2-12 Chanute Comets.
Chanute held Iola scoreless 4 minutes into the first quarter, but a free throw from Elza Clift, who scored a team-leading 10 points, snapped the Mustangs out of their malaise as they went on a 19-8 run going into halftime.
“It took us a while to get going, and that’s what we were trying to avoid. But, the girls do a good job of finding a way to win,” Iola coach Kelsey Johnson said.
Friday’s victory was a team effort with only a pair of buckets separating the top four scorers. After the
sluggish start, forwards Alana Maker and Reese Curry gave Iola a bit of momentum with buckets near the paint, then guard Harper Desmarteau exploded with a 3-pointer and an easy drive to the basket after picking up a loose ball.
After taking a 20-17 lead into halftime, Iola went cold to open the second half. A Desmarteau 3-pointer, a pair of free-throws and a driving basket by Zoie Hesse, who only recently captured a 190-pound Pioneer League wrestling title, were the Mustangs only third-quarter scores. Chanute took a 24-20 lead, prompting a timeout from Coach Johnson.
“[Chanute] really packed it inside, because they know we have to go inside to score a lot,” Johnson said. “It took us a while in the third quarter, but our girls kept fighting back. It took us a while to get going, but we found a way.”
Instead of avoiding the paint, the Mustangs attacked the basket with more ferocity in the fourth quarter, resulting in drives by Hesse and guard Brooklyn Holloway cutting into the Comets’ lead, then another Desmarteau 3-pointer tied the game 27-27. The Mustangs went on a 14-6 run in the fourth quarter to seal the victory and give them plenty of momentum as they return to Pioneer League play Tuesday on the road against Prairie View (2-12).
“The three wins will give us a lot of confidence heading into [Prairie View],” Johnson said. “Even though these three wins were not our prettiest basketball, we found a way and that’s huge.”
Tuesday will be Iola’s second tilt against the Buffalos, who previously defeated the Mustangs 48-39. Johnson believes her team has improved greatly since their last encounter, and feels confident they can extend their winning streak to four games with the odds of hosting a postseason game increasing with every victory.
“You can get stagnant at this point in the year, but we’re still climbing,” Johnson said. “Confidence is a big deal for these girls. We’re still building that. We’re still trying to pull everybody together, and we’re doing a good job of that. Sometimes they don’t see the big picture.”
Iola (7-13-7-14—41)
FG/3pt FT F TP
Holloway 1 2 1 4
Clift 4 4 1 10
Mader 2 2 0 6
Desmarteau 1/2 1 0 9
Hesse 2 1 2 5
Curry 2 3 2 7
Crusinbury 0 0 1 0
Chanute (7-10-10-6—33)
Walls 0/1 0 2 3
Uhner 2/1 4 3 11
Peter 1 0 0 2
Noonan 2/1 1 0 8
Katt 1 1 0 3
Smith 0 0 1 0
Bero 2 0 4 4
