Thursday’s game against Carl Junction was probably the ugliest 41-point win in the history of Republic Lady Tiger basketball. Republic shot poorly from the outside, and almost as badly from the inside, but their defense carried them to an easy victory in a non-conference matchup, 70-29.
Alice Heinzler powered through her shooting troubles to net 21 points, despite going without a 3-point bucket all night. The only signs of life on the offensive perimeter came from Michayla Shanks and Micah Mansker during a brief period in the first half. They each hit two 3-pointers in the 2nd quarter as Republic put the game away. Shanks finished with 11 and Mansker had eight. Alex Botkin had 10 points for the Lady Tigers.
“I thought we did a good job defensively. We were creating opportunities, we just weren’t putting the ball in the basket,” says coach Kris Flood. “It was one of those nights when there was a lid on it. I was pleased with their effort.”
Flood says the tough shooting night didn’t hurt the Lady Tigers Thursday, but he knows that will change as the schedule gets tougher.
“We were in a situation with a comfortable enough lead that it didn’t come back to kill us,” says Flood. “But obviously, we realize we’re going to need that later on when we start getting in the conference…we’re going to have to finish some things up.”
Republic improves to 4-0. Carl Junction falls to 2-5.