Republic built a 12-point lead in the 1st half, lost most of it, but hung on for a 49-36 win over Webb City on the road Thursday night.
Webb City pulled to within a possession of the Lady Tigers on multiple occasions, and drew within a point at 20-19 early in the 3rd quarter. That completed a 12-1 run. But Taylor Fergen responded with a three-pointer and another basket on consecutive possessions. The next time down the floor, she threaded the Webb City defense with a pass to a wide-open Allyson Barrett on the right block, and Barrett finished to push the lead back to eight points.
It was indicative of the entire game, with Republic pulling ahead and Webb City closing the gap. In the 1st quarter, Republic jumped ahead by 12 points, only to see a 12-1 by the Cardinals.
"We maintained a lead majority of the game. We'd get a little bit of relief, then they'd charge back," says coach Kris Flood. "Some of that was our own fault. We missed a lot of easy shots and missed some free throws again tonight. We had some turnovers in some bad spots when we could have calmed it down."
"We just did enough there in the 2nd half to get a double-digit win. It's been a hard week two hard-fought wins, and to remain unbeaten in conference–we'll take it," Flood says.
Republic improves to 13-8. The Lady Tigers are 4-0 in the Central Ozark Conference. They host Branson in a big COC showdown next Monday.
Scoring
Taylor Fergen 22, Halli Bartelsmeyer 7, Megan Branstetter 11, Avy Powell-Qualo 2, Allyson Barrett 3, Madi Beckham 4
Player of the Game
Every time the Lady Tigers really needed a bucket, Taylor Fergen delivered. The senior guard had 22 points, including five straight in a key 3rd-quarter stretch, to lead Republic to victory. She’s our Coldwell Banker Player of the Game.
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