For the better part of three quarters, Iola High’s girls were able to withstand the singular brilliance of Wellsville’s Savannah Viets.
The speedy guard single-handedly kept the Eagles in contention, scoring 24 of her team’s 27 points by halftime.
Iola’s balanced attack, meanwhile, was doing just fine, and Iola held a 46-38 lead headed into the fourth quarter.
Mustang head coach Kelsey Johnson’s strategy, to put a defender on Viets at all times, was done in part to wear down the Wellsville junior.
“We did what we were supposed to in the first half,” Johnson said. “We figured, surely, she can’t keep it up all night.”
Turns out she could.
Viets received a timely boost from teammate Alana Green, who had been tied to the bench for much of the first three quarters because of foul trouble.
With both in the lineup for the fourth quarter, the Eagles were able to pounce, triggering a 16-2 Wellsville run to give the Eagles the lead for good.
By the time the smoke cleared, Viets had 36 points and the Eagles a 62-54 victory, dropping the Mustangs to 3-5 on the season.
“We should not be disappointed with the effort,” Johnson said, noting Iola had played a tough road game at unbeaten Caney Valley the night before, and may have tired down the stretch. “It stinks that we lost, but it says a lot about the girls.”
THE FIRST quarter was a study in contrasts. Iola had six players score, while Viets had all of Wellsville’s 15. The Mustangs carried a three-point lead into the second quarter, and then took control when Green went to the bench with her third foul of the night.
Harper Desmarteau hit a 3-pointer, while Reese Curry drained a pair of field goals late in the half as Iola went into the locker room holding a 34-27 lead.
Green’s return to the court coincided with another Wellsville run. The Eagles scored the first three buckets out of the break to pull to within 34-33 before Iola responded in kind.
Brooklyn Holloway and Curry each hit 3-pointers during a 12-2 Mustang run, pushing Iola ahead 46-35.
But Wellsville opened the fourth quarter on another tear. Viets and Green repeatedly attacked the basket, and subsequently made repeated trips to the free throw line as the Eagles took control.
