CARBONDALE — Perhaps it was fitting Tuesday’s matchup fell on Groundhog Day for Iola High’s Fillies.
Iola was downright stifling on defense in the second half, limiting host Santa Fe Trail to three points in the third quarter, and then forced the Chargers into a nearly 6-minute scoring drought in the fourth quarter.
Problem was, Iola wasn’t getting much going on offense.
As has become an all-too-familiar refrain, cold shooting and turnovers resulted in a 39-28 defeat at the hands of Santa Fe Trail. The setback keeps the Fillies winless on the season.
“We’re doing great things on defense,” Iola head coach Kelsey Johnson said. “But when you’re struggling that much on offense, it makes it hard. We’re taking good shots. We’re shooting when they’re open. And we’re starting to do a better job of getting inside-outside.
“We just can’t get our shots to fall.”
The second quarter was the fatal quarter this time around.
Iola’s Aysha Houk trimmed an eight-point deficit to 13-8 late in the first quarter before Santa Fe Trail placed together an 11-0 run.
Kaylie Schinstock and Shelby Sprague converted buckets for the Fillies late in the half, trimming the deficit to 28-12.
Things ground to a halt offensively for both teams in the second half.
Iola’s Madisyn Holloway opened the third quarter scoring midway through the period, and Santa Fe Trail didn’t connect until Sydnee Whitaker scored with 2 minutes left in the period. Sprague scored for the Fillies but Kaelee Washington hit a free throw for the Chargers, and the gap was still 31-16 at the buzzer.
A pair of quick Charger buckets to open the fourth frame briefly extended the lead to 20. Iola’s Hannah Gardner and Sidney Shelby connected from the field before Holloway hit a pair of free throws to slice the deficit to 36-22.
But it was too little, too late.
Holloway scored inside and Shelby converted a 3-point play in the waning seconds for the final margin.
Sprague led the way with eight points, followed by Holloway with six, Shelby with five and Houk with three.
Iola travels to Burlington Friday.
Johnson is optimistic Iola will benefit from playing the Wildcats a second time.
“We still haven’t quite hit that stride when our offense and defense are connecting at the same time,” Johnson said, “and I don’t think teams still quite know what to expect from us. At this point, they may be expecting us to miss shots. Knocking some of those shots down will help.”
