To put it mildly, it's been a remarkably fun past three games for the Republic Lady Tigers.
After Monday's eye-popping performance in which it nailed a school-record 13 3-pointers against Neosho, Republic put on quite the encore one day later with ten successful strikes from long range in its win over Bolivar.
On Thursday, the Lady Tigers (19-1, 4-0 COC) were back for more – knocking down nine 3-balls in a convincing 70-42 victory over visiting Nixa (11-10, 2-2 COC).
“We've had a really nice week as far as our shooting,” Republic head coach Kris Flood said after the win. “It seemed like we were playing really tight coming into this week, but we just seemed to get into a flow.”
Already coming off three consecutive blowout victories, the No. 1 ranked team in Class 5 wasted no time in ensuring that Nixa had no thoughts of an upset as Republic made good on five of its first six shots from the floor, including a 3-for-3 performance from outside the arc in the game's first two minutes.
“To come out and hit those first three or four shots and to really get that early momentum was a big key,” Flood said.
The high-intensity offensive attack helped the Lady Tigers jump out to a 14-2 lead near the midway point of the first quarter. 10 minutes and three more 3-pointers later, that advantage would grow to as much as 30 points after senior Brylee Argo calmly put through a pair of free-throws with 1:42 still remaining in the opening half.
The Lady Eagles didn't exactly help out their own cause either as head coach Jennifer Perryman's club turned the ball over an astonishing 17 times over the first 16 minutes – equating to just over one turnover per minute.
“When you play a good team like Republic, they're going to capitalize on those turnovers,” said Perryman. “You want to limit their possessions to begin with because they're such good shooters and they can score at any position on the floor. When you turn the ball over and give them that many more possessions, you're not going to benefit from it.”
Perryman also noted a key attribute that her team was severely lacking en route to a 44-16 halftime deficit – toughness.
“Toughness is something we've kind of dealt with all year,” Perryman said. “As young as we are and as inexperienced as we are, that's what we're kind of trying to hang our hat on. In the first half, we didn't show much toughness at all.”
Despite giving up three more buckets via the long ball, Nixa saw some of that missing toughness finally materialize in the second half – helping the Lady Eagles dominate the boards and play Republic even the rest of the way.
“Nixa didn't stop playing,” Flood added. “They did a really good job of getting offensive rebounds. The second-chance points are what killed us in the second half, so we'll definitely have to get that situated.”
Three Lady Tigers scored in double-figures on the night as senior Brooke Stanfield led the way with 15 points, while senior teammates Jordan Kabetske and Alexis Ladwig added 14 and 11 points, respectively. Kabetske and Ladwig also combined for seven of their team's nine 3-pointers.
Both teams now put their focus on their respective arch-rivals as Republic welcomes in Willard, while Nixa prepares for a Monday showdown with Ozark on the road.
Box Score
Nixa – 6 10 16 10 – 42
Republic – 18 26 19 7 – 70
Nixa – Halley Wiggins 15, Kayla Goss 8, Shelby Ewing 6, Jeni Liss 4, Paige Wells 3, Lakyn Wools 2, Bisset Michaelson 2, Taylor Arnold 2
Republic – Brooke Stanfield 15, Jordan Kabetske 14, Alexis Ladwig 11, Taylor Fergen 9, Brylee Argo 9, Allyson Barrett 4, Madison Beckham 4, Madison Appleberry 2, Jade Sawyer 2
