[email protected]
Iola Middle School’s eighth-grade A-team Ponies were in their game for three quarters. Visiting Parsons Middle School pulled away on a 13-2 run in the fourth quarter to win 30-18.
“We put ourselves in a position to win the game after three quarters but our intensity just wasn’t there late,” said Marty Taylor, IMS basketball head coach.
Iola had a 2-1 lead after one quarter and trailed Parsons 7-6 at intermission. Each team scored 10 points in the third quarter, making it 17-16.
Mikaela Platt fired in eight points and grabbed six rebounds. Taylor Sell chipped in with four points.
Hannah Ingle, Ashlie Shields and Elise Wolf each had two points. Ingle had four rebounds.
“Mikaela played well on both ends. She did a great job on the boards against much bigger girls,” Taylor said. The eighth-grade team is 1-8 for the season.
Iola’s seventh-grade A-team claimed a 35-18 victory. It pushed its season record to 9-2.
“Overall, this was our best effort so far. I thought the girls were much more focused than the last three or four games,” Taylor said.
Iola turned a 6-5 first-quarter deficit into a 17-11 halftime lead. The Ponies outscored the Vikings 7-4 in the third quarter then cruised to an 11-3 scoring edge in the fourth period.
Sydney Wade paced the Ponies with 15 points and four assists. Toni Macha tossed in 13 points followed by five points from Riley Murry and two from Lexi Heslop.
Macha, Murry and Heslop each controlled four rebounds. Taylor Stout had three rebounds.
“Sydney controlled our break much better and did a great job defensively on their best player,” Taylor said. “Toni played hard on both ends of the court.”
In a combined B-team game, Iola won 14-10. Cloey Burris and Bobbi Sinclair each scored four points. Scoring two points each were Della Lohman, Alaynah Donovan and Micaiah Larney.
“Coach (Stacy) Sprague is doing a great job with these girls. They just keep improving every game,” Taylor said.
Iola is at Burlington today for a tournament.
Pony girls split with Parsons
