The Lady Tigers dominated Springfield Central on the glass, nearly breaking a single-game school rebounding record, in a 53-45 win to open the Stephanie Phillips Classic in Springfield. The Lady Tigers also forced 20 turnovers with their pressure defense.
Freshman Kaemyn Bekemeier led the team with 14 points, including nine in the fourth quarter to help Republic put the game away. Savana Powell-Goodman scored 10 points, all in the first half, as Republic jumped out to a quick start. The Lady Tigers led 18-9 after the first quarter, out-rebounding Central 13-7 and taking advantage of second and third chances on the offensive end to score many of their points.
Republic finished the game with (unofficially) 42 rebounds. The school single-game record is 43, set in 1989 against Cassville.
“We had made as one of our emphases. We definitely on the defensive end limit their shots… but we talked about the way they play their zone, we could maybe get some second opportunities,” said coach Kris Flood. “We needed it tonight. We didn’t shoot the ball well from the perimeter. We just kind of did enough and held on … when they made that run at us. We just had enough there and had some key baskets.”
At halftime, Republic had a 33-19 lead and had racked up 26 rebounds. When Jazzy Kirby scored to open the second half, Republic held a 16-point lead. But Central came alive and scored 14 of the next 16 points to close the gap to 37-33. A free throw by Bekemeier and a bucket by Kaitlyn Ragsdale helped give Republic a little breathing room heading into the fourth quarter with a 40-33 lead.
In fact, from that point on, Bekemeier and Ragsdale handled the bulk of the scoring load, as they combined to tally 14 of Republic’s last 16 points. Jazzy Kirby also added a free throw in the fourth quarter. Flood said Bekemeier’s ability to play multiple roles put her in a position to help down the stretch.
“She’s a real good athlete and she can play multiple spots,” he said. “She can help in the post. She can help us defensively. She’s a real good rebounder. But we had a lot of people do some good things.”
Central cut the lead to four points at 47-43, but Bekemeier scored five straight points to push the lead back to nine and ice the game.
Republic improves to 2-1. The Lady Tigers will play Friday at Kickapoo at 9:00 pm in the second round of the tournament.
Unofficial Stats
Republic Individual Scoring: Kaemyn Bekemeier 14, Savana Powell-Goodman 10, Jazzy Kirby 9, Delaney Smith 6, Jade Kirby 6, Kaitlyn Ragsdale 5, Shealyn Barrett 2
Rebounds: Republic 42, Central 26
Turnovers: Republic 15, Central 20