PITTSBURG — Facing Pittburg High’s Purple Dragons as Southeast Kansas League opponents for the final time, Iola High’s Mustangs and Fillies came up short Friday night at Pittsburg.
The Mustangs lost a heartbreaker 63-58. It was a back-and-forth contest the entire way and was tied 53-53 with 2:20 left in the game.
The Fillies struggled to hit shots most of the night. They trailed by eight at halftime but Pittsburg went on a 14-0 run in the third quarter to open a 20-point lead. Iola showed some spark in the final period, scoring 15 points, but lost 38-29.
Iola’s boys are 2-4 in SEK play and 9-9 overall. Iola’s girls fell to 3-3 in league action and 7-11 overall.
The Fillies and Mustangs have two more SEK games to finish up the regular season. They travel to Altamont Tuesday to play Labette County High’s teams.
Iola’s squads end the regular season at home Thursday with Independence High’s Bulldog teams coming into the IHS gym.
“We couldn’t buy a bucket tonight,” said Fillies’ head coach Becky Carlson. “In the third quarter, we had good looks but the shots were not falling — well, for the whole game.”
The Fillies found themselves behind 4-1 — the one came on a free throw from Kelsey Adams with 7:20 on the clock. Kelsey Larson had two baskets to make it a 6-5 game but Pittsburg’s Skyler Muff and Lizzy Willis answered to a 10-5 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Purple Dragon girls (4-2, 14-4) outscored Iola 7-4 in the second quarter. The Fillies were within reach, eight points, at halftime down 17-9.
Then came the third quarter. Iola didn’t score until the 2-minute mark when Larson hit a three-pointer. Hannah Endicott added two free throws but they were down 31-14.
The Fillies did outscore the Purple Dragons 15-7 in the final eight minutes. They ran out of time.
Kendra Taiclet finished with 12 points for Iola and Larson had nine.
Pittsburg was led by Lizzy Willis with 12 points and Muff with 10.
In junior varsity action, Pittsburg won 34-21. Emily Ware led Iola with six points.
Iola’s freshman girls won 29-25 with Jo Lohman’s 12 points leading the way.
