The Lady Tigers put together one of the best defensive halves in recent memory and used it as a springboard to a 55-45 win over Nixa (#8, Class 5) at home Thursday. Republic held the Lady Eagles to just two field goals and nine points in the first half, as they built a 24-9 lead at halftime. They held off a Nixa run in the 2nd half to secure the victory and improve to 3-0 in the Central Ozark Conference.
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“To me, it’s a matter of when we are really focused,” coach Kris Flood says of his defense. “It’s getting more consistent, I think.
“That first half, that’s about as well team defensively as we’ve played in a long time, especially this season. Things are starting to click. They’re starting to get used to each other. They’re starting to rotate, communicate a little bit better.”
Flood says not only has his young team matured over the season, but the coaching staff has made adjustments to the new personnel as well.
“We as a coaching staff have figured out some things, who…might be able to come in and shut down some certain people.”
Republic led 11-7 after one quarter, but in the 2nd quarter they tightened the screws defensively to take control. Nixa didn’t score for the first seven minutes of the quarter, when they sank two free throws. They failed to score a field goal in the quarter. It was 24-9 as the teams went to the locker room.
In the 3rd quarter, Nixa closed the lead to seven points on multiple occasions, but Republic responded each time.
“I’m really proud of them tonight. We talked about it at halftime. They’re going to make a couple runs here and there,” says Flood. “I thought we showed a little bit of maturity tonight and stepped up and responded to that. Tori Taylor and Brooke (Stanfield), they hit a couple big shots and stopped the momentum and stopped the run without having to burn a timeout there.”
Stanfield led the Lady Tigers with 13 points. Taylor had 12. Jordan Kabetske was also in double figures with 11 points. Jade Sawyer had seven, Micah Mansker and Brylee Argo had four apiece, and Michayla Shanks and Logan Flood each had two.
Flood says Republic’s schedule, and its experience in close games, is paying off.
“In those game situations, we’ve been in a few now and they’ve learned how to finish,” he says.
The victory improves Republic’s record to 18-4 overall, and 3-0 in the conference. Republic has beaten two of the top contenders in the COC, in Nixa and Webb City, with Ozark still looming among the remaining opponents. Nixa still must travel to Webb City for a game later this season.