Fifteen 1st-half turnovers were too many to overcome for the Republic Lady Tigers, as they lost at home to Hillcrest Thursday 70-57. The Lady Tigers took better care of the ball in the 2nd half, but finished with 20 turnovers for the second straight game.
Hillcrest used aggressive defense to clog the passing lanes and made it difficult for Republic to get a shot off at all during the first two periods. On the other end of the floor, Kelbi Painter caught fire from beyond the three-point arc, scoring 14 points in the half, including four three-pointers. Hillcrest led 38-23 at the break.
Republic’s lone bright spot came in the 3rd quarter, when the Lady Tigers turned up their own defensive pressure and converted several Hillcrest turnovers into easy points. Brooke Stanfield led the charge, pulling down several offensive rebounds and scoring 11 points. When Michayla Shanks drained a 3-pointer late in the quarter, the lead was briefly down to six points. But Kelsey Cleeton answered with a three-pointer at the other end for Hillcrest, stretching the lead back to nine, and it was back into double digits before the quarter was over.
Hillcrest outscored Republic 18-15 in the 4th quarter to put the game away.
Republic was led by Stanfield’s 16 points. Jordan Kabetske, Tori Taylor, and Shanks had eight apiece. Micah Mansker and Jade Sawyer scored six each. Rachael Allen had three, and Bailey Cornelison had two.
Kelbi Painter scored 23 to lead all scorers for Hillcrest. Brittany Fisher added 21 for the Hornets, who improved to 1-1. Republic fell to 1-1, also.
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