If the Lady Tigers showed any signs of rust in their first game in nine days, it didn’t last very long. Republic bolted from the starting line and left Aurora in the dust in an 80-46 win at the Gary Keeling Classic in Bolivar.
Avy Powell-Qualo broke a 5-5 tie to send the Lady Tigers on a 21-5 run in the first quarter. They led 26-10 at the end of one. Aurora managed to get the lead down to 11 points briefly in the second quarter, but Republic pulled away again with a 26-point third quarter, stretching the lead to 68-43.
Halli Bartelsmeyer’s hot shooting paced Republic, especially in the first half, when she scored 15 of her team-high 21. Megan Branstetter added 19, Brylee Manes scored 13, and Avy Powell-Qualo added ten. Everyone on the Republic roster scored.
“I was curious to see how both teams would come out ,” says coach Kris Flood. “I’d watched the game before, and both of them looked like they hadn’t been in there in a while, but I thought we came out well. We shot the ball. We looked like we were getting up and down the floor okay. We didn’t have too many flaws offensively.”
Flood says the only weak spot in the Lady Tigers’ performance was a defensive letdown in the second quarter, when Aurora out-scored Republic 21-16.
Republic improves to 7-8. The Lady Tigers had been scheduled to play again Thursday night, but weather-related schedule difficulties prompted tournament organizers to push Republic’s game against Camdenton to next Wednesday night. The Lady Tigers will be off until then.
Individual Scoring
Halli Bartelsmeyer 21, Megan Branstetter 19, Brylee Manes 13, Avy Powell-Qualo 10, Anna Bell 6, Morgan McGuire 6, Lacee Walcher 2, Jade Kirby 1
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Farr Better Player of the Game
If the Lady Tigers were on fire Wednesday night, Halli Bartelsmeyer is the one that lit the spark. Bartelsmeyer scored ten points in the first quarter, 15 in the first half, and 21 for the game to lead Republic. Her night included four three-pointers, including three before halftime, and she was the Farr Better Player of the Game.
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