The Lady Tigers were never able to shake Neosho (14-6), despite having the lead in double-digits most of the night. The Wildcats cut the lead down to seven points a couple of times in the fourth quarter before Republic pulled away. But ultimately, Republic had too many offensive weapons for Neosho to contain.
Eight different players scored for Republic, and four of them were in double figures, led by Brooke Stanfield with 14 points. Tori Taylor had one of her best offensive games of the year, with 13. Jordan Kabetske scored 12, and Brylee Argo added ten. Michayla Shanks added nine, on three three-pointers. Logan Flood scored eight. Jade Sawyer had seven, and Micah Mansker had six.
“Offensively, I thought we did a fine job. We’re getting good looks from the inside. We’re getting some shots from the outside. If someone’s off, we’ve got kids who can pick up,” says coach Kris Flood.
The Grace Place Player of the Game is Brooke Stanfield! Stanfield scored 14 points to lead the Lady Tigers, and her quickness on defense contributed to several turnovers in the first half.
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The concern for Flood is his defense, which allowed Chelsey Henry to score 30 points and gave up 36 second-half points to Neosho.
“We’ve had two games in a row now where we’ve been giving up…too many points. We’re going to have to go back and focus a little bit defensively and clean some things up on that end of it,” says Flood. “We’re going to have to find someone who can shut down someone’s #1 . We’re going to have to be be able to stop them and control them.”
Republic led by ten points at halftime, 40-30. The Lady Tigers stretched the lead to 61-48 at the end of the third quarter, and never let Neosho get closer than seven points the rest of the way.
The win puts Republic at 3-0 atop the conference standings. It’s also a key victory over a district opponent. It sets up a showdown Thursday with Nixa, who is also in Republic’s district. The Lady Tigers will be on the road for that game, and the game will be broadcast live on Republic Tiger Sports.
