By Matt Turer — mturer@ky3.com
@MattTurer
Springfield, Mo. — The brighter the lights, the better the show. Seems like that’s life for Branson’s Lady Pirates.
Branson jumped, sang and danced its way through Republic Wednesday, dispatching the Lady Tigers 60-42 in the Class 5 sectionals with relative ease and exceptional depth.
Amanda Kearney and Gracie Jaeger led Branson (25-4) with 16 points apiece, Terra Utz-Depriest contributed 12 of her own and the Lady Pirates established a 12-point halftime lead that never slid back into single digits inside Drury University’s O’Reilly Family Event Center.
“Our kids have had to step up and that’s probably why we’re 25-4 right now,” Branson head coach Kip Bough said. “If we were a one-man show you’d just put five on [Kearney] and make it difficult, but you can’t do that. Terra is a load. Tori [O’Dell] hit a 3 tonight. You’ve seen what Lauren [Garrison] can do and then tonight you’ve got Gracie. We’re more than a one-trick pony.”
CLICK HERE FOR REPUBLIC VS. BRANSON PHOTOS
Jaeger had 15 points through three quarters for Branson, adding an offensive wrinkle that Republic (17-12) couldn’t afford to wear despite limiting Kearney, Branson’s all-time leading scorer, to a relatively calm offensive night.
“I’m not surprised,” Bough said of Jaeger’s performance. “The kid’s a competitor. People sit there and say, well, she can’t shoot, but she’s on a team with a lot of shooters and we know what she can do. We know the drive and we know the work ethic and we know defensively what she can do.”
The win was Branson’s third of the season over Republic, with the other two coming by single-digit differentials, 53-45 and 57-52.
“It’s just so exciting,” Jaeger said. “Beating Republic three times in a season is big. Not only winning sectionals, but it’s always good to beat Republic. They’re such a hard team to beat. Everyone told us it’s hard to beat a team three times in one season, but we’re like, ‘we got it.’”
Branson now has a date with Rock Bridge (25-4) at 2:45 pm Saturday in Bolivar in the state quarterfinals. The Lady Pirates fell to Rock Bridge 56-24 in the Pink & White Tournament, but this Branson team has a different feel in March than it did in January. Plus, the Lady Pirates were without Utz-Depriest in that loss.
“They got us good, but we’re a different team,” Bough said. “You can hear the confidence. We’re just on a really good roll. I don’t know if our kids feel like right now that they can be beat. You see the confidence in them just grow and grow and grow each game, and I tell them the best is yet to come.”
A Taylor Fergen bucket put Republic up 8-7 with 3:40 left in the first quarter, but that would be the last lead Wednesday for the Lady Tigers. Branson responded with a 12-4 run.
Branson went up 26-15 on a Jaeger bucket with 1:46 left in the first half. Republic only pulled within single digits twice the rest of the game, both in the second quarter.
“I think just the intensity level and the way they play that match-up zone is tough, especially if you’re not shooting the ball well,” Republic head coach Kristopher Flood said. “I thought we played pretty well in the first quarter. We had a rough second quarter. They hit us with a nice run there.”
Fergen led the Lady Tigers with 14 points, followed by eight from Brylee Manes and six by Madison Beckham and Allyson Barrett. All but Manes in that group are seniors.
Republic managed just four points in the third quarter.
At the buzzer, Branson put on one of its now-patented post-game tournament celebrations, running over to its student section to fully embrace the still-ongoing moment.
“They understand the work that goes into it. They know this is not easy. They understand that, hey, go celebrate. This is tough. Getting this far is tough. Let them celebrate. That’s part of the experience and the joy,” Bough said.
“Their actions speak for themselves. I flip through the O-Zone pictures just smiling watching their faces in celebration. That’s what’s fun for me. I enjoy it because they’re great kids. We’re a very blessed team.”
FINAL: Branson 60, Republic 42
Republic 10 10 4 18- 42
Branson 16 16 13 15- 60
Republic- Taylor Fergen 14, Brylee Manes 8, Madison Beckham 6, Allyson Barrett 6, Megan Branstetter 3, Halli Bartelsmeyer 2, Madison Appleberry 2, Avylina Powell-Qualo 1
Branson- Amanda Kearney 16, Gracie Jaeger 16, Terra Utz-Depriest 12, Lauren Garrison 8, Tori O’Dell 8, Karis Goodwin 2, Ravan Tucker 1
