Republic and Glendale drew the 9:30 a.m. game in the Pink Division at the Pink & White Lady Classic, and for the first quarter, both teams seemed to have a little trouble waking up. But mid-way through the second quarter, Republic stepped up its defensive pressure, turned some turnovers into points, and gradually began to pull away from the Lady Falcons in a 56-39 win.
Republic began to show some life late in the first quarter, with four reserves––Jazzy Kirby, Delaney Smith, Shealyn Barrett, and Kaitlyn Ragsdale––on the floor. With Glendale leading 8-5, Kirby and Barrett each scored a bucket to give the Lady Tigers a 9-8 lead at the end of the first period. Their points were part of a 9-0 run that spanned several minutes in the first and second quarters.
” just trying to stay fresh as much as possible, and we had a little bit of foul trouble,” says coach Kris Flood. “I’ve got a tremendous amount of confidence in those kids that we have on the bench that they can come in and contribute. We had that today, and we needed it.”
Jazzy Kirby led Republic with 11 points. Shealyn Barrett scored six points off the bench, and Delaney Smith added a bucket.
In the second quarter, the Lady Tigers outscored Glendale 17-10 as they began to assert control. The Lady Falcons scored just five points in the third quarter, and Republic pulled away down the stretch to advance to the winner’s bracket second round.
“I assumed we’d be a little bit rusty, not playing since (December) 17th, then factor in an early start. Hopefully, we’ll be more adjusted tomorrow when we come out. No matter what, we’ll need to take it up to a different level tomorrow.”
The Lady Tigers, seeded #7, will meet #2 seed Ozark at 9:30 a.m. Thursday at O’Reilly Family Event Center on the Drury University campus.
Scoring
Jazzy Kirby 11, Avylina Powell-Qualo 10, Halli Bartelsmeyer 9, Clara Fronabarger 9, Jade Kirby 9, Shealyn Barrett 6, Delaney Smith 2
Farr Better Player of the Game
Jazzy Kirby came off the bench to lead Republic with 11 points in limited minutes, including five straight points in the middle of the second quarter. Her performance in the opener of the Pink & White Lady Classic makes her our Farr Better Player of the Game.
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