Ozark stormed ahead early and played spoiler on the last night of the Central Ozark Conference season, knocking off Republic 66-56 Monday night. The game ended Republic’s big for a COC championship, dropping them to 6-2 in the league. Carl Junction beat Neosho to finish 7-1 and capture the title in their first year in the conference.
Ozark began the game with two of its usual starters on the bench, as Ozark coach David Brewer opted for an all-senior starting lineup for Senior Night. It didn’t matter, as Ozark out-hustled, out-rebounded, and out-scored Republic early, bolting to a 19-9 lead after the end of the first quarter.
“ came out and looked like they were ready to play,” says coach Kris Flood. “We gave up several second-chance points and a lot of offensive rebounds. The first three possessions, we turned the ball over. We just didn’t look in sync.”
Ozark’s lead never grew bigger than 12 points, and Republic cut the lead to five points at one time — but Flood says his team ran out of gas because of the rough start.
“We fought the whole night. We kept having to fight back, fight back, fight back. We used a lot of energy trying to do that. In the second half, we got a little bit tired,” he says.
The Lady Tigers fall to 14-10 overall. They finished with a 6-2 conference record. They’ll be home for Senior Night, their last regular-season game of the year, Wednesday night against Rogersville.
Scoring
Brylee Manes 21, Halli Bartelsmeyer 8, Madi Beckham 8, Avy Powell-Qualo 6, Allyson Barrett 5, Taylor Fergen 5, Megan Branstetter 3
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Player of the Game
The Lady Tigers could have been blown out early, except for the contribution of Brylee Manes. Manes scored 11 points in the first half, including three three-pointers, to keep Republic close before the break. She finished with a team-high 21 to earn our Coldwell Banker Player of the Game honors.
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