When Republic’s shots didn’t fall early against Springfield Catholic, they just kept shooting. And shooting. And shooting.
The Lady Tigers used a commanding performance on the offensive glass to beat Springfield Catholic 74-25 in the opening round of the Pink & White Lady Classic. Republic had multiple shots on most of its early offensive possessions as they sprinted to a 40-10 lead at halftime.
“I thought we did a pretty good job on the offensive boards. We were flying around a little bit,” says coach Kris Flood.
Nine different Lady Tigers scored, led by Sarah Kreul with 13 points. Kreul’s quick start on the offensive glass helped spark Republic. Micah Mansker added 11 points, Alex Botkin scored 10, and Tori Taylor and Kayla Bartelsmeyer added nine apiece.
The early lead helped Flood get his starters off the floor as they rest and prepare for the potential of playing four games in four days.
“We got a chance to play a lot of kids and got them a lot of minutes,” says Flood. “I think in a tournament like this, it will be a key.”
Republic advances to the second round game at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at the O’Reilly Event Center.