By Michael Cignoli (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
You can’t win 11 district championships in 15 years — as the Republic girls basketball program has done — without creating a culture where players consistently step up and carry on the success of those who donned the uniform before them.
As the Tigers bid farewell to one of the program’s all-time greats, they’ll turn to an experienced group of returning players to continue that historic run this winter.
“I am proud that our program has remained so consistent through the years,” Republic coach Kris Flood said. “We have been fortunate to have kids that bought into the program and understand the expectations. In those 15 years, we have gone through many changes with classification switches and having different teams in our districts, but — like I said — it goes back to our players and coaching staff. We will try to keep it going this year with a good core group back — seven seniors — plus some good underclassmen that will give us good depth.”
That depth and experience will be crucial as the Tigers adjust to life without current Missouri State Lady Bear Kaemyn Bekemeier, who rewrote the record books during her four seasons at Republic. The school’s all-time leading scorer capped her varsity career with a spectacular senior season in which she collected all-state honors and was named Player of the Year by the Central Ozark Conference, district and Ozarks Sports Zone.
It’s a significant loss, but the Tigers return every other starter from the group that finished 26-4, won a district title and held opponents to just 45.3 points per game last winter.
That defense will become even more important as the Tigers determine which players will be their top contributors on offense — Bekemeier accounted for about 38 percent of the team’s scoring last season.
“We will rely heavily on our defense this year, especially at the beginning of the year until we find our rhythm on offense,” Flood said. “Finding our way and consistency on offense will be a huge key to how successful we could be.”
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Top candidates include guards Misora Nambara, Lauren Chastain and Molly Blades and post Alaina Norman, who all started last season. Together, the now-senior quartet averaged 31 points per game last winter — just over half of Republic’s total offense.
Nambara, the team’s point guard, averaged about eight points per game — earning all-conference and all-district honors.
“We are looking for her to continue to do what she does, but look for her to score more this year,” Flood said.
Chastain also averaged about eight points per contest.
“We are looking for her to have a good senior year,” Flood said. “She has the ability to play both ends of the floor.”
Blades particularly impressed the coaching staff last season and was rewarded with a starting job. She also finished the year with eight points per game.
“She became a starter mid-December last year and was a player that really stepped up and helped us to be successful,” Flood said.
Norman could be poised for a breakout season.
“She is extremely versatile and we are looking for her to step up this year,” Flood said.
Molly Mason, Alex Price and Gracie Woods complete Republic’s seven-player senior class.
“These three will be looked upon to fill in and step up their productivity this year,” Flood said. “They are very capable players and we anticipate they will give us the added depth that we may need.”
Juniors Lanney Strong, Sammi Watson, Addison Walker, Kaylee Cornelsen and Annabelle Gerhardt-Hobbs and sophomore Addi Brown have all played important roles on Republic’s junior varsity squad — and will be looking to replicate that success with the big club.
“We believe that they could provide us with quality minutes this year at the varsity level,” Flood said.
The Tigers will host Kickapoo, Logan-Rogersville and Miller for a November 13 jamboree, then tip off the regular season at the Willard Basketball Classic that begins on November 27. Their first Central Ozark Conference game is set for January 11, when Joplin comes to town.
“I am really looking forward to seeing this group of players playing together,” Flood said. “I feel like team chemistry will be fantastic and I know they are anxious to get the season started. Like I said earlier — depending on how quick we can figure out player roles as a staff — I feel we have a chance to be just as competitive as last year in conference and possibly the postseason.”
