BURLINGTON — Despite going eight minutes without scoring in the first half, Iola High’s Fillies were in a position to win Friday night’s consolation game.
The Fillies had just scored on a steal and layup by Kendra Taiclet to make it 32-29. Paola High’s Panthers took a timeout.
Lauren Toney tapped the basketball away from the Panthers. In the scramble the ball was knocked out of bounds by Paola. There were three minutes left in the contest.
A missed one-and-one opportunity followed by an off-the-mark three-point attempt by the Fillies and the momentum swung back to the Panthers. Paola outscored Iola 10-2 in the final two minutes to win 42-31.
The loss was Iola’s fifth in a row and dropped the Fillies to 3-8. It also puts the Fillies in the seventh-place game today at the 2012 Burlington High Invitational.
The Fillies play Rossville at noon in the Burlington Middle School gym.
“We are having trouble finishing our shots. Everything looks better when you shoot well,” said Becky Carlson, Fillies’ head coach.
“Our girls continue to play hard and play well defensively.”
The Fillies fell behind 4-0 but came back on a three-point play by Taiclet and a three-pointer from Kelsey Adams. It was 7-6 when Taiclet’s two free throws put Iola up 8-7.
That was at the 4:17 mark of the first quarter. It was the only lead Iola had all night.
Paola tacked on six points. Taiclet netted a trey to make it 13-11 but Tiana Moala, a 6-1 freshman, scored inside for the Panthers.
Iola’s defense kept the Fillies in the game. While no shots were falling for Iola in the second quarter, the Fillies only gave up five points.
Taiclet connected from long range again with 27 seconds left in the half. Iola trailed by six, 20-14, at halftime.
The teams traded points in the third quarter. A jumper by Libby Shay cut the margin to six again, 26-20.
Iola’s defense held and the Fillies had the ball. A big six-point turnaround stymied Iola’s comeback a bit.
