Nixa scored 15 consecutive points during a five minute stretch in the second half, then hung on down the stretch to beat Republic 84-76. Five different players finished in double figures for the Lady Eagles, who picked up their 20th win of the season. Republic suffered its first loss in Central Ozark Conference play.
Nixa’s ability to run the floor was the difference in the game. The Lady Eagles killed Republic on fast break points all night, including six transition layups in the first half.
“They were converting our turnovers (to points),” said coach Kris Flood. “We had talked about being able to try and get back, but we just didn’t do a very good job. We just ran into a team that flat-out wanted it a little bit more than we did.”
Republic had grabbed its biggest lead of the night late in the second quarter, after Hope Schatz made three three-pointers in the period. But Nixa finished the half with seven consecutive points to take a 42-41 lead at halftime.
Nixa opened the second half quickly, taking a 50-43 less than two minutes into the third quarter. The Lady Tigers responded with a brief run of their own, eventually tying the score 55-55 on a three-point play by Bekemeier with 2:06 left in the quarter.
But one minute later, a pull-up jumper by Norah Clark started a 15-0 run by Nixa that spanned nearly four minutes. By the time it was over, the Lady Eagles led 73-57. A steal and a layup by Bekemeier with 5:20 left in the game was the first bucket of the fourth quarter for Republic.
“We just couldn’t get out of our own way, and we started pressing a little bit (and) taking some quicker shots,” Flood said. “But we just couldn’t get a stop – even in the half court, not just transition. We’ll just have to get over it and try to get better to get ready to finish out conference before we head into districts.”
Kaemyn Bekemeier scored 37 points in a losing cause for Republic. That’s the third time in the last four games she has scored at least 37 points, and the fourth time in her career she has topped the previous Republic single-game mark of 36.
Hope Schatz had three more three-pointers and finished with 13 points. She made her first two shots of the night, and one of those shots was a three-pointer. Dating back to Friday’s game, that gave Schatz nine consecutive three-pointers made.
Nixa improved to 20-4 (7-0 in the COC). Republic fell to 17-6 (6-1). The Lady Tigers host Webb City Thursday. Republic will honor the 2012 state champions before that game.
Republic Scoring
Kaemyn Bekemeier 37, Hope Schatz 13, Rilynn Finley 9, Misa Nambara 8, Alaina Norman 5, Misora Nambara 4
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