Iola High Fillies coach Becky Carlson put it succinctly —“Sometimes, we just get frazzled.”
Early frazzles put Iola in an early deficit they could not overcome.
Visiting Anderson County shut out the Fillies through the first quarter, and led 16-2 at one point.
The Lady Bulldogs coasted from there in a 40-19 win to keep the Fillies winless on the season.
Despite the early deficit, Iola showed some spunk in the latter stages of the game.
Jo Lohman put Iola on the board with a bucket in the first minute of the second quarter, then Emery Driskel and Emma Piazza went 3 of 4 from the line as Iola stayed even with Anderson County through the bulk of the period.
Anderson County went on a 12-3 run to open the second half, leading 32-10, before the Fillies responded once again.
Driskel hit a shot at the third-quarter buzzer, then Kyra Moore scored early in the fourth period.
Lohman scored twice in the last five minutes of the game, including a 3-point play with 1:29 left to give her a team-high 10 points. Driskel followed with five.
“Jo was very aggressive tonight, and I thought Emery did a good job of rebounding,” Carlson said. “Those two really stepped up tonight. I like what Mikaela Platt does off the bench, and Kyra came back and did some nice things.”
Driskel led the Fillies with eight rebounds. She, Piazza and Hannah Endicott each had two steals.
Moore had two points, and Piazza and Endicott both scored one.
The Fillies lost the services of senior Emma Sigg, who left the contest after hitting her head on the floor midway through the first quarter.
Jaime Mersman had 11 points for Anderson County.
Iola’s junior varsity was within two points late in their contest, before Anderson County pulled away in a 33-26 setback. Paige Miller scored six points, while Lexie Long and Lohman had five points apiece. Shelby Reno and Taylor Sell each added three points. Moore and Endicott each had two.
In C team action, Iola fell 31-14. Ashlie Shields scored four points for the Fillies, while McKayli Cleaver, Cassie Delich, Taylor Heslop and Sell each had two points. Olivia Bannister and Taelyn Sutterby scored one point each.
The Fillies return to action next Friday at home against Central Heights. The game is part of Iola’s winter homecoming festivities.
Anderson Co. (10-7-15-8—40)
Iola (8-5-5-9—19)
Anderson Co. (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Steele 0-2-1-2, Porter 0-0-2-0, Stevenson 3-0-3-6, Adams 3/1-0-3-9, Jirak 0-0-1-0, Ratliff 1-0-1-2, Moody 2-2-3-6, Scheckel 1-0-1-2, Mersman 2-7-3-11, Wilson 0-1-0-1. TOTALS: 12/1-13-17-40.
Iola (FG-FT-F-TP): Long 0-0-1-0, Moore 1-0-2-2, Piazza 0-1-0-1, Lohman 4-2-3-10, Ford 0-0-4-0, Endicott 0-1-4-1, Platt 0-0-2-0, Driskel 1-3-1-5. TOTALS: 6-7-17-19.
Cold start dooms Iola
