Iola-Scandy girls defeat Manawa

By Greg Seubert

It wasn’t pretty, but it was good enough for the Iola-Scandinavia girls’ basketball team to get its record back to .500.

The Thunderbirds overcame a sluggish first half and went on to a 49-39 Central Wisconsin-8 Conference win Jan. 22 over Manawa on the Wolves’ home court.

Neither team found its shooting range in the first half, as Manawa took a 14-13 lead into the locker room at the break.

The Wolves eventually used an 8-0 run to take a 28-23 lead in the second half, but the T-Birds responded with a 13-0 run of their own to take the lead for good.

Manawa cut the lead to 39-34 with 3:57 to play on a Kassidee Zander basket, but never got any closer, as I-S pulled away with a 9-1 run.

Leighten Fischer scored 13 of her game-high 22 points in the second half for the T-Birds, while Manawa’s leading scorer, Laynie Bessette, came up with 15 of her 17 points in the second half.

Kendall Johnson and Baleigh Fuhs added eight and seven points, respectively, for the T-Birds, while Carlee Zander finished with six for the Wolves.

I-S will host Weyauwega-Fremont Thursday, Jan. 28, while Manawa will travel to Shiocton Friday, Jan. 29. Tipoff for both games is set for 7:30 p.m.