The adversity was clear for Iola High’s Fillies as they faced a team that hard already beaten them once this season in Anderson County. They needed all hands on deck to pull of a 39-33 win.
“We lost to Anderson County the first time,” Iola senior Mikaela Platt said. “We wanted to set a statement.”
One of the Iola leaders remained on the bench Friday. Junior point guard Sydney Wade is still recovering from her high-ankle sprain.
Iola leading scorer Toni Macha was back on the floor, but still dealing with sickness that caused her to miss the Fillies’ last game on Tuesday.
“It shows us each one of us can step up and still win,” Platt said.
“My seniors stepped up,” Iola coach Becky Carlson said.
Platt answered the call for Iola. She scored a game-high 11 points and helped lead a Mustang press that was able to frustrate the Bulldogs into several turnovers.
Platt said that going into the game, she knew she may be called on to carry more of the scoring load.
“I’ve always worked on my shot all four years,” Platt said. “So that was my goal to score as much as I could.”
Platt was far from alone in keying the victory.
Colbi Riley continued her run of fine play at point guard. She was inserted into the lineup when Wade was injured last week and has been a bright spot ever since.
The sophomore scored eight against Anderson County.
Senior Ashlie Shields scored seven and also was crucial to the press.
“Mikaela and Ashlie really stepped up for us tonight,” Carlson said. “It was a great team win.”
Macha showed her grit in her first action in a week. She scored just seven points, but helped near the top of the press on several occasions and even brought the ball down the floor for her team to help break the Anderson County press after the Bulldogs tried that to get back in the game.
“It is nice to have a mismatch. She can handle the ball really well,” Carlson said. “If a post is guarding her it just makes sense to have her bring it up.”
