Sometimes it comes down to not quitting the fight.
Iola Middle School’s seventh-grade girls could have packed it up after several possessions in the third quarter when the Ponies turned the basketball over. Independence Middle School’s Bulldogs pushed out to a 22-16 advantage by the end of the period.
The Ponies kept working. Riley Murry’s three-point play tied the game at 24-24 late in regulation. That’s where the score stood at the buzzer so the seventh-grade A-team game moved to overtime.
The Bulldogs took a 25-24 lead on a free throw. Toni Macha sank two free throws for the Ponies and had a basket to put the game away, giving Iola a 28-25 overtime victory.
“We didn’t play very well but we played hard and didn’t quit when we got down,” said Marty Taylor, Iola head coach. “Winning a game against a pretty good team when you don’t play well is something that good teams do.
“We took a step in that direction tonight. Riley made a huge three-point play to tie it up in regulation and Toni sealed it with all four of our points in overtime.”
Independence led 12-9 at halftime.
Macha finished with 12 points and seven rebounds for Iola. Murry had five points and five rebounds while Lexi Heslop scored five and pulled six rebounds. Taylor Stout scored four points and Sydney Wade had one point.
Iola won three of four games against visiting Independence Monday.
The loss was in the eighth-grade A-team contest. Independence held Iola to just five first-half points for a 21-5 lead. The Ponies produced more offense in the second half but lost 37-22.
“We made some strides in the right direction in the second half but we just dug too deep of a hole in the first half with silly mistakes,” Taylor said. “Hannah Ingle gave us a little bit of a boost off the bench.”
Mikaela Platt fired in 11 points and had five rebounds for Iola in the eighth-grade A-team game. Ingle had five points and grabbed five rebounds. McKayli Cleaver and Olivia Bannister each had three points.
Cleaver led the Pony eighth-grade B-team to a 13-6 victory with seven points. Cassie Delich, Micaiah Larney and Bobbi Sinclair each had two points.
Iola’s seventh-grade girls notched an 18-10 win. Alaynah Donovan and Breckon Sutherland each had four points. Scoring two points each were Kayla Underwood, Brook Storrer, Taylor Stout, Della Lohman and Keirstan Peterson.
Iola hosts Parsons Thursday.
Pony seventh-grade A-team takes OT win over Bulldogs
