The Fillies went into the locker room at halftime with a sour taste in their mouths. They only trailed 15-12 against Anderson County, but it felt like a lot more after the Bulldogs out-scored them 13-2 in the second quarter.
“People might have thought that we weren’t going to win,” Iola senior Della Lohman said. “So our mindset was that we were going to come out and kick their butts.”
“As ugly as we played, we were only down three,” Iola coach Becky Carlson said.
It was senior guard Sydney Wade who provided the final swift kick.
With 11 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Wade put the Fillies in front with a driving basket and gave her team the points it needed for a 37-35 victory.
“Coach told me that if we didn’t have anything to look for a drive and in the moment, I just went for it,” Wade said.
After Wade broke the tie, the Bulldogs had a couple chances to either tie the game or steal the win.
A Bulldog three-point shot bounced off the rim, but ricocheted out of bounds off of Iola with 4.8 seconds left.
Anderson County drew up one final play, but Ashley Lickteig’s mid-range jumper was off and as the two teams battled for the rebound the final buzzer sounded.
The win improves Iola’s record to 4-3 and makes them 2-1 in Pioneer League play with a two-game winning streak.
“It is great,” Wade said. “We are just ready to get another win on Friday at Osawatomie.”
The final two points of the game capped Wade’s 18-point scoring night.
The Fillies’ post players were also able to take advantage of an undersized Anderson County front line. Lohman and fellow-senior Riley Murry each had strong games rebounding the basketball.
“I felt like Della and Riley were very aggressive tonight and just played great,” Carlson said.
The small opposing lineup also offered Carlson the opportunity to go small and get more minutes for sophomore guard Madisyn Holloway, who is emerging as a potential offensive weapon off of the bench.
“She is long and quick,” Carlson said. “She can shoot and is offensive-minded. She is just really aggressive and quick.”
The key for Holloway has been getting her defensive aggressiveness to the point where her offensive aggressive is.
“I think it is (improving),” Carlson said of Holloway’s defense. “She is a guard, but she is so long. That helps.”
Her backcourt partner Wade agreed that having the extra athleticism of Holloway in the game helped the pressure defense. Wade had four steals early in second half to get the Fillies jump-started.
“I think our defense really came alive and when we get a steal, it really brings everything to life, especially on the offensive end,” Wade said.
BOX SCORE
Iola 37,
Anderson County 35
Iola 10 2 10 15 – 37
AC 2 13 8 12 – 35
Iola (4-3)
(2pt/3pt-FTM-FTA-Points) Sydney Wade 5/1-5-8-18; Riley Murry 1/0-0-1-2; Colbi Riley 3/0-1-2-7; Della Lohman 2/0-2-6-6; Toni Macha 2/0-0-1-4. TOTALS: 13/1-8-18-37. FOULED OUT: None.
Anderson County
(2pt/3pt-FTM-FTA-Points) Adrianna Pedrow 2/0-4-8-8; Alexis Feuerborn 0/3-2-2-8; Shylie Scheckel 2/1-0-0-7; Maycee Ratliff 2/1-0-1-7; Ashley Licktig 1/0-1-2-3; Alexey Licktig 0/0-0-1-0; Emma Porter 1/0-0-0-2. TOTALS: 8/4-7-14-35. FOULED OUT: Ratliff.
JUNIOR VARSITY
The Iola junior varsity lost to Anderson County 28-22 on Tuesday.
Piper Moore and Macayla Bycroft each scored six points to lead the Fillies’ offense.
Madisyn Holloway and Sujinna Phutatham each hit a three-point basket in the game while Chloe Gardner and Kelsey Morrison rounded out the scoring with two points each.
FRESHMEN
The Iola freshmen team lost to Anderson County 33-18.
MJ Nieses led the Fillies with six points.
Elysia Kunkler and Nissa Fountain each scored four while Gabby Lampe and Chrissy Helman rounded out the scoring with two each.
UP NEXT
Iola hits the road to take on Osawatomie on Friday.
