GIRARD — Iola High couldn’t keep pace with Girard in Tuesday night’s first round sub state contest. The Trojans activated the running clock in the fourth quarter, ending the Fillies season with the 51-13 defeat.
“And the thing is, we just didn’t play as good as we could have,” Iola head coach Becky Carlson said. “You don’t like it to end like this, but we don’t want this to define our season because we probably won a lot more games than a lot of people thought we would.”
The Fillies started the night without the services of senior Kelsey Morrison, who was out with illness. Carlson admits not having the team’s senior catalyst didn’t do Iola any favors.
“It was a big loss offensively and defensively,” Carlson said. “She guards really well, and she is a little bit bigger than the other girls.”
The Fillies didn’t get on the scoreboard until the 1:15 mark in the first quarter. Junior Becca Sprague scored the team’s only field goal, and added a pair from the charity stripe. Despite the slow start, Iola trailed only 8-4 after the first.
Girard extended its led with seven straight points to start the second, leading 15-4 with 5:27 remaining in the quarter. Lauryn Holloway scored three points on 3 of 4 from the free-throw line to bring Iola within seven.
The Trojans executed a 12-0 run before senior Gabby Lampe beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer. The Fillies trailed 27-10 heading into the break.
Iola failed to score in the third, Girard continued to press Iola after every make, and led 40-10 entering the fourth. A running clock commenced at the start of the fourth, and the Fillies finally got on the board with a free throw from Lampe with 5:22 remaining. Lampe scored Iola’s oly field goal of the second half as the Trojans finished off the Fillies 51-13.
Tuesday’s loss according to Carlson was a learning experience.
“ If I look at who played a role last year, I don’t know if any of them played except Kelsey and Elysia Kunkler,” Carlson said. “It was all new for all of them, and they were nervous because they have never been in a situation like this before.
With the loss, the Fillies finish the season with a 8-13 record.
Iola (4-6-0-3—13) (pts): Lampe 6, Holloway 3, Sprague 4.
Girard (8-19-19-5) (pts): Ausmes 3, Orendee 2, Tallie 14, Short 2, Smith 4, Polano 9, Drossler 9, Howard 8.
