Fillies ward off Viking invasion

While Iola High’s offense was stuck in neutral at times Tuesday evening, the Fillies’ defensive effort was top-notch from start to finish.
And when Iola’s shots finally started dropping, it turned a deficit to visiting Central Heights into a 37-30 win.
The victory, Iola’s second in a row, bumps the Fillies to 4-4 on the season and 2-0 in Pioneer League play.
“That was a good team effort,” Fillies head coach Becky Carlson said. “When you play good defense, you’re gonna be in the game.”
There were several heroes.
Freshmen Sydney Wade and Toni Macha combined to score 12 of the Fillies’ 14 points in an uphill first half in which  Iola didn’t score in the first four minutes and Central Heights led by as many as 10.
But with Iola’s defense set on “stifling” through much of the third quarter, Emma Piazza — held scoreless up until then — scored seven straight points to cap a 15-1 run, including a 3-pointer to give Iola the lead late in the period.
The game was nip and tuck after Central Heights scored to tie the game at 23-23 to start the fourth quarter, although Iola never surrendered its lead after Macha hit a free throw with 7:47 left to put the Fillies back on top.
Addie Haar forced a tie-up on the Vikings’ next possession to give the ball back to Iola. Jo Lohman picked up a critical steal with 5½ minutes remaining and Wade forced a 5-second call on defense for another Viking turnover.
Addie Haar and Hannah Endicott both had key rebounds in the final 90 seconds. Endicott picked up another steal with 24 seconds remaining to end another Viking possession.
The Fillies didn’t allow a field goal over the final 3:22.
Meanwhile, Wade hit 7 of 8 free throws in the fourth quarter, scoring the game’s last five points from the line to seal the win.
Wade finished with 13 points, six rebounds, seven assists and two steals. She was followed by Piazza with seven points and two assists. Lexie Long had three assists and two steals. Lohman also  had two steals.
“All five girls on the court really stepped up,” Carlson said. “I loved our intensity, and the girls are getting more confident. We’re starting to realize that we can do what it takes to win games like this.”
Piazza is a prime example. Even after missing on a handful of scoring chances earlier, she eagerly accepted Carlson’s request to shoot free throws after the Vikings were called for a technical foul late in the third period.
Was there any pressure?
“Are you kidding?” Piazza said. “I wanted to shoot them.”
She made both, pulling Iola to within one, 19-18. A Piazza 3-pointer with 1:20 left in the third put the Fillies on top, 21-19.
“I knew we needed a basket,” Piazza said. “It felt good to see one go down. Our defense has been good for quite a while. Our offense is what we’re still working on.”
The lead ballooned to four when Wade found Piazza underneath for another basket.
The Vikings’ Brianna Erhart ended the Viking drought with four straight free throws to tie the score at 23-23 with 7:52 left in the game.

THE VIKINGS scored the game’s first six points before Lexie Long, Macha and Wade scored in rapid succession to tie the score at the end of one. Another Macha bucket pushed Iola on top, 8-6, early in the second quarter.
But Iola’s offense went cold once again as the Vikings scored 12 straight to lead 18-8 with 2:55 left in the half.
Wade’s jumper with 2 1/2 minutes was followed by a Macha putback. Wade followed suit with her own putback with 25 seconds left to cut the Viking lead to 18-14.
“We probably could have been leading by 20 if we had just hit our easy baskets,” Carlson said. “We were getting some great looks. They just didn’t drop.”
The Fillies’ response to those early struggles was key.
“We never got frustrated, and we never let it affect our defense. Jo Lohman is really starting to find her game, and Addie Haar and Hannah both had huge stops for us.”
Amanda Raby scored 10 and Erhart nine for the Vikings.
Iola also prevailed, 33-16, in the junior varsity contest. McKayli Cleaver scored eight points and Lohman seven for the Fillies JV.
The Fillies return to action Friday at Prairie View.
Central Heights (6-12-3-9—30)
Iola (6-8-9-14—37)
Central Heights (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Erhart 2-5-2-9, Kraus 0-4-5-4, Furst 0-0-1-0, Schaefer 0-1-2-1, Markley 0-0-5-0, Meyer 2-2-0-6, Hayward 2/1-3-1-10. TOTALS: 6/1-15-16-30.
IOLA (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Wade 3-7-2-13, Long 1-0-1-2, Piazza 2/1-2-1-9, Lohman 0-0-1-0, Endicott 0-0-4-0, Haar 2-0-3-4, Platt 0-0-2-0, Driskel 0-0-4-0, Macha 3-1-3-7. TOTALS: 12/1-10-21-37.