Republic outscored Kickapoo in three of the four quarters of Monday night’s game––but the one they lost was too much to overcome. Kickapoo outscored Republic 20-6 in the third quarter Monday, then got one final defensive stop to hold off a late Republic comeback, to grab a 43-42 win on its home court in Springfield.
The Lady Tigers had led after one quarter, 13-12. They led at halftime, 25-19. But in the second half, Kickapoo coach Jim Pendergrass extended his team’s defense and began to trap more aggressively, taking advantage of his team’s long arms and overall size advantage. The Lady Chiefs forced multiple turnovers and eventually led by as many as ten points.
“They were contesting more of our shots,” says coach Kris Flood. “In the first half we had a lot of good open looks. That second half, it was a lot of contested shots. We a had a lot of momentum going into half and … then they got really aggressive. We had foul trouble. They had several points off the free throw line third quarter.”
Game Replay
But Kickapoo missed more free throws than it made, and that helped Republic climb back into the game. Clara Fronabarger banked a running jumper high off the glass as time expired in the third quarter, cutting the lead to 39-31. And Halli Bartelsmeyer hit her fifth three-pointer of the night on Republic’s first possession of the fourth quarter, making it 39-34, then hit another three two minutes later to make the lead 41-37.
From that point, Kickapoo went to a box-and-one defense, guarding Bartelsmeyer one-on-one. Bartelsmeyer didn’t score again, but Republic still had an opportunity to win the game in the final seconds. After a Delaney Smith three-pointer cut the lead to one, Republic got the ball back and held it for a final shot. Avylina Powell-Qualo missed a running one-hander on the right side of the lane, Anna Bell rebounded, and Clara Fronabarger had a final open look at the basket from beyond the three-point arc, but the shot didn’t go in, and Kickapoo held on.
“I told the kids after the game tonight, a ton of credit. They battled back … and I thought we really had a couple of good good looks there to maybe win the game, but they just didn’t fall.”
Flood says despite the disappointing outcome, he believes the loss will make the Lady Tigers better later in the season.
“I think this type of stuff will help us. I think it keeps building on what we did at the Classic. We’re playing with some confidence. We’ve got some kids that are stepping up and playing. I didn’t want to go into the Pink & White like that, but I’m … glad the way we battled, and it was a heck of a game.”
Republic falls to 3-3. The Lady Tigers will play next in the opener of the Pink & White Lady Classic December 26 at 9:30 am at Weiser Gym against Springfield Glendale.
Scoring
Halli Bartelsmeyer 18, Avylina Powell-Qualo 7, Jade Kirby 5, Clara Fronabarger 5, Shealyn Barrett 4, Delaney Smith 3
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Farr Better Player of the Game
Halli Bartelsmeyer was so hot, the Kickapoo coaching staff had to restructure its defense just to shut her down. Bartelsmeyer made six three-pointers before Kickapoo went to a box-and-one defense focused on keeping the ball away from her. Her 18 points led all scorers, and she was our Farr Better Player of the Game.
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