Republic overcame a dismal shooting start to beat Spokane in the opening round of the Pink & White, 51-33. The Lady Tigers pulled down 30 rebounds and contributed to 31 Spokane turnovers to advance.
Savana Powell-Goodman led Republic with 15 points. Kaemyn Bekemeier had 12.
The Lady Tigers managed just two field goals during the entire first quarter, despite pulling down several offensive rebounds. They took several three-point attempts early, but didn’t hit from long range until Powell-Goodman got them going with a trey early in the second quarter.
“The first half, we really struggled with coming out a little rusty,” said coach Kris Flood. “We were getting our stops defensively and I think that’s where it became a little more frustrating as the game progressed and we just couldn’t get that separation.
“The few times we did get some turnovers off the press, we got some easy shots. The intensity kind of went back up a little bit in the second half and we made a nice run.”
Republic dominated the action in the first quarter, but led only 6-5 after the first eight minutes. It was 22-12 at halftime after the Lady Tigers opened the quarter with a 16-3 run. The Owls scored the last four points of the half to get back in the game.
Republic celebrated the return of point guard Clara Fronabarger, who has missed the first month of the season with an off-season knee injury. She did not start, but scored two points off the bench and helped the Lady Tigers throw their full-court press into a higher gear at times.
Republic out-rebounded Spokane 30-21.
The Lady Tigers improve to 4-2 this season. They will play #3 seed Strafford Friday at the O’Reilly Family Event Center at 6 pm.
Republic Scoring: Savana Powell-Goodman 15, Kaemyn Bekemeier 12, Shealyn Barrett 6, Jazzy Kirby 6, Kaitlyn Ragsdale 6, Jade Kirby 4, Clara Fronabarger 2
