Strafford wasn’t about to let Republic crash its record-breaking party. The Lady Indians blew open a close game in the second half, beating Republic 69-42 for their 103rd consecutive win. That breaks the Missouri state record previously held by Marshfield.
The Lady Tigers didn’t seem intimidated by the circumstances or the standing room-only crowd during the first half. Republic trailed by nine points at the end of the first quarter (15-6), but a three-pointer by Savana Powell-Goodman cut the lead to seven points (23-16) late in the second quarter. It seemed Republic had some momentum going into halftime — but consecutive three-pointers by Strafford bumped the lead to 29-16 and put Strafford in control at the break.
“After the three pointer, when we cut it to seven, we got a little momentum going there. Then, what kind of haunted us in the first half came back to bite us a little bit there. We got them to miss a perimeter shot, and they got an offensive rebound and kicked it out and hit a three,” said coach Kris Flood. “If we could have went into halftime under double digits, it might have made a difference.”
Even when Republic’s defense was keeping Strafford’s high-powered offense in check, the Lady Tigers were having trouble scoring on their own end, because of Strafford’s tight defense.
“They’ve got more than just one or two kids that can get out and take away some of your best options,” Flood said of Strafford’s defense. “We really had a hard time in the first half getting good looks.”
Strafford broke the game open in the third quarter, outscoring Republic 15-3 to open the half. The lead was 27 points at the end of the third quarter, 51-24.
Scoring
Halli Bartelsmeyer 10, Jazzy Kirby 9, Clara Fronabarger 6, Jade Kirby 5, Carle Ward 5, Savana Powell-Goodman 5, Shealyn Barrett 2
Farr Better Player of the Game
Senior Halli Bartelsmeyer was a steadying force on the floor in a hostile environment for the Lady Tigers. Bartelsmeyer hit Republic’s first field goal (a three-pointer) to help the Lady Tigers settle into the game, and she finished in double figures in scoring, and for her performance, she’s our Farr Better Player of the Game.
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