Republic had overcome an eight-point deficit at the beginning of the 4th quarter to force the first overtime. The Lady Tigers led briefly in the first overtime, and had a chance to win it on their final possession, but couldn’t score.
Republic also wasted some opportunities down the stretch that could have made a difference.
“We had two critical turnovers there with a one-point lead,” says coach Kris Flood. “We’ve played enough games now that we should have been able to get through that.”
Even getting the game to overtime took a monumental effort after the way Republic started. They trailed 19-7 after one quarter and 30-20 at halftime. It was 37-29 Ozark going into the final period.
“I thought tonight we regressed a little bit in the 1st half. It looked like we were the younger, more immature team,” says Flood. “I thought they were tight and played scared there in the beginning. Shots weren’t falling and we got a little frustrated. But to their credit, they did come back, and we had our opportunities.”
The Lady Tigers had a chance to clinch at least a share of the COC title with a win. Instead, they suffered their first conference loss, and they’ll have to win at Branson to ensure they get at least a share of the title. Webb City also has one loss in the conference, after beating Nixa Thursday night.
