Their leading scorer was out with five fouls. Their second-leading scorer was on the bench with an injury. It didn’t matter to the Lady Tigers, who overcame an 11-point 3rd-quarter deficit to beat Neosho on the road in overtime Monday, 47-43. Sophomore Avy Powell-Qualo stepped into the spotlight big-time, scoring a team-high 12 points, including the game-winner with about :35.
After Powell-Qualo’s bucket, two other Lady Tigers stepped up to seal the win: Allyson Barrett flew in from behind to block a game-tying Neosho layup, then Megan Branstetter made two free throws to put the game out of reach.
Coach Kris Flood says several factors opened the door for Powell-Qualo to contribute.
“Neosho creates some bad matchups the way they spread it out offensively, and we were having trouble guarding some of their kids,” he says. “The foul trouble came into play and we’re a little short on the bench, so we gave it a shot, and she came in and gave us a real shot in the arm energy-wise. Both defensively and offensively, she did some things, and she hit the key basket when we needed it.”
Flood had actually called for Republic to hold the ball for one shot with about 50 seconds remaining in overtime, but because of the noise in the gym, Powell-Qualo didn’t hear him.
“Sometimes you’re just better off to let them go as opposed to running a set or something. It worked out. She hit it,” says Flood.
Republic had briefly taken a 7-6 lead early in the 1st quarter, but never led again until the overtime period. They fell behind 30-19 just after halftime, and it looked like Neosho (15-5) would run away with it. But Taylor Fergen made two straight buckets, Halli Bartelsmeyer drained a three, then Powell-Qualo and Branstetter scored to close out the 3rd quarter to bring Republic within a bucket.
Neosho jumped out by seven points again, but Powell-Qualo scored two baskets in a row to start an 8-1 run that helped the Lady Tigers tie it 39-39 with 1:40 remaining in regulation. Both teams had a chance to win it in the final seconds of the 4th quarter but couldn’t connect.
“It’s a heck of a win for the kids,” Flood says. “It looked rough in the first half, then we really played well in the 4th quarter and the overtime period. We pulled out a COC win on the road. We’ll take it, especially against a team that’s been playing very well.”
Republic improves to 12-8 overall, 3-0 in the COC.
Scoring:
Avy Powell-Qualo 12, Megan Branstetter 11, Taylor Fergen 9, Allyson Barrett 8, Madi Beckham 4, Halli Bartelsmeyer 3
Player of the Game
Avy Powell-Qualo came off the bench to score 12 points — none bigger than a bucket that broke a 43-43 tie and helped Republic beat Neosho in overtime.
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