Lady Tigers coach Kris Flood could think of exactly one good thing to say about Thursday nights game against Webb City: his team won.
It was a long, inelegant game, but the Lady Tigers fought off Webb City for a 62–52 win at home Thursday. The teams committed 43 fouls in total – 24 by Republic and 19 by Webb City. Because of that, the teams spent much of the second half walking from one end of the court to the other to shoot free throws.
When they got to the line, the teams combined to miss 19 of those foul shots. Webb City shot 22 free throws and made 13. Republic shot 30 and made 20. Five players – three for Webb City and two for Republic – fouled out.
The teams also combined for more than 40 turnovers.
Still, the Lady Tigers escaped with a win, which made it a little easier for Kris Flood to stomach the performance.
“The positive (is) we get a win at home, gearing up for the last two regular season games,” Flood said. “We missed a lot of shots underneath the basket, especially in the first half. We might have been able to extend the lead, but just never really felt comfortable. They got after us defensively and created a lot of turnovers. We’re going to have to get mentally and physically a little bit tougher.”
Flood said after Willard’s physical defensive performance shut down Republic two weeks ago, he’s worried other teams have learned to follow the same strategy. Both Nixa and Webb City played a physical defensive game to disrupt Republic, and it worked for the Lady Cardinals Thursday much of the night.
“This is not the time to regress. We’ve got to play better. I know the kids can. We didn’t show up.”
Kaemyn Bekemeier led Republic with 23 points before she fouled out in the fourth quarter. Jade Kirby and Savana Powell-Goodman also scored in double figures.
Republic controlled the first quarter, outscoring Webb City 13-8 and causing six Webb City turnovers. But the Lady Cardinals fought back to tie the game at halftime, 32-32.
In the third quarter, Webb City took a 38-36 lead, but a 9-0 run by Republic helped the Lady Tigers grab their biggest lead of the night, 45-38. It was 45-40 heading into the fourth quarter.
In the final eight minutes, Republic outscored Webb City 17-12. The Lady Tigers scored 13 of those points on free throws. Webb City shot 12 free throws in the final quarter, but made only six of them.
Republic improves to 16-8 overall. They’re 6-2 in the Central Ozark Conference with one league game remaining. That’s next Monday at home against Ozark on Senior Night. Webb City is 11-12 (3-5).
Republic scoring: Kaemyn Bekemeier 23, Jade Kirby 14, Savana Powell-Goodman 13, Kaitlyn Ragsdale 9, Delaney Smith 3