Jordan Kabetske's biggest shot of the game might have been a fourth-quarter miss.
With Republic trailing Branson by one late in the game, the senior guard missed a long 3-pointer from the wing. While the ball appeared to be headed out of bounds, a quick hustle play gathered the rebound for the Lady Tigers and rotated the ball back to the top of the key.
Waiting there was Republic's newest record holder for 3-pointers in a season.
Senior Alexis Ladwig, days after hitting her 60th 3-pointer of the season, calmly buried yet another to give Republic a 42-40 lead with 2:28 left in the game. Three key defensive stops later, the Lady Tigers found themselves shooting free throws to seal a 50-44 victory and a Central Ozark Conference Large Division title.
Kabetske finished with a game-high 17 points for Republic and netted the final two free throws of the game. Ladwig finished with 6 point on a pair of 3-pointers. After missing the fourt-quarter shot, Kabetske had complete confidence in her fellow senior.
"Alexis and I actually did that same play in our last game," Kabetske said. "We realize that if we drive on a zone, Alexis is going to be open, and Alexis hits threes like no other. If we just keep kicking it out and driving, they're either going to have to guard us inside or outside. That makes them have to choose."
Tough defensive assignments weren't limited to the Lady Pirates. Republic was forced to deal with the Branson's inside-out combo of Terra Utz-Depriest, Amanda Kearney and Ashley Forrest.
While Kearney and Forrest are well-known for their capabilities both from the perimeter and driving through the lane, it was Utz-Depriest causing headaches for Republic early on.
The junior center scored 9 of her 13 points in the first half and opened things up for Branson's guard combo.
Republic head coach Kris Flood discussed the defensive adjustments necessary to slow down Branson's 6' post.
"We tried to do some stuff as far as getting her double-teamed a bit," Flood said. "We took a kid off one of their players and tried to so some stuff where we'd at least have a front and back and get her sandwiched. We went a little bit more zone. With the zone, you can do a little better job with that."
Flood was also quick to point out the defensive play of Brylee Argo, an undersized forward tasked with defending Utz-Depriest most of the evening.
"Brylee, a lot of times, held her own with [Utz-Depriest]," Flood said. "Number 50 is an extremely strong kid, but Brylee … you know, she's pretty smart as far as trying to get good position and try to stay off that body contact. She was in the right spot, we just had some breakdowns where we didn't have backside help for her."
Kearney and Forrest joined Utz-Depriest in double figures, scoring 14 and 11 points, respectively.
For Branson head coach Kip Bough, the final three minutes represented a number of opportunities that could have gone either way for the Lady Pirates, among them Ladwig's back-breaking 3-pointer.
"That's an effort play," Bough said. "When you look at a game like that, with two good teams going at it, a lot of times it's a play like that which determines the difference. If we get that rebound, with less than two minutes left … we come down, and it's a whole different ball game."
Both teams now look ahead to their respective district tournaments.
Republic (22-1) has one final regular-season game on the road at Rogersville. The top-seeded Lady Tigers then travel to Joplin for the Class 5, District 12 tournament on Monday, Feb. 29. A semi-final matchup pits the COC large champions against either Willard or Joplin.
Branson (21-4) tries for a school-record 22 wins when it hosts the Class 5, District 11 tournament. The second-seeded Lady Pirates also open with a Monday semi-final, squaring off against Ozark.
Republic – 50, Branson – 44
Republic 13 13 13 11 — 50
Branson 14 9 15 6 — 44
Republic Scoring: Jordan Kabetske – 17, Taylor Fergen – 8, Jade Sawyer – 8, Alexis Ladwig – 6, Brooke Stanfield – 6, Brylee Argo – 4, Logan Flood – 1
Branson Scoring: Amanda Kearney – 14, Terra Utz-Depriest – 13, Ashley Forrest – 11, Lauren Garrison – 6
Frosh Score: Republic – 37, Branson – 18
JV Score: Republic – 55, Branson – 29
