Hope Schatz unleashed a perfect barrage of long-range bombs Thursday, burying eight three-pointers in a row to set a new school record in a 64-31 win at Joplin.
Schatz’s 8-for-8 shooting night also helped the Lady Tigers break the team record for three-pointers in a game. They finished with 14, finally busting the old record of 13, which had been tied three times since it was originally set in 2016.
“I knew I was hitting, but I didn’t know I was going for a record or anything,” Schatz said. “My teammates just…passed me the ball and it happened. I thought I had like five or six.”
Republic ran away from a Lady Eagles team that has shown a lot of improvement over previous seasons and entered the night with a 10-11 record. But Joplin couldn’t handle Republic’s defensive pressure and wasn’t quick enough to chase the ball around the perimeter. The Lady Tigers took advantage with their best shooting night of the season.
In addition to Schatz’s eight three-pointers, Kaemyn Bekemeier and Misora Nambara each made two, and Rilynn Finley and Miha Nambara each made one. Bekemeier’s three-pointer early in the fourth quarter was the record-breaker.
Schatz’s eight threes are the most in school history, breaking a mark set by Alice Heinzler against Dexter in a game played at West Plains on February 16, 2013. Heinzler made seven threes and scored 36 points, then a school record, on that day.
Schatz’s record-breaking performance was even more impressive for its efficiency. She only took eight shots all night, all from beyond the arc, and all on target. Only one player in the history of Missouri girls basketball has made more three-pointers in a game without a miss. (Brooke Littrell of Green City was 9-for-9 vs. La Plata in 2020.)
“When the ball was coming off her hand, it just looked really good every time,” said coach Kris Flood. “She’s got one of those mindsets, and we just kept trying to get the ball to her. Eight for eight. That’s unbelievable.”
A Republic player has broken at least one individual school record in each of the last three games. Kaemyn Bekemeier broke the single-game scoring mark against Carthage Saturday. She broke it again Tuesday at Willard, in addition to breaking the single-game field goals mark. Schatz got in on the act Thursday.
Republic improves to 17-5 overall and 6-0 in the Central Ozark Conference. Joplin falls to 10-12 (1-5).
The Lady Tigers will visit Nixa Monday.
Republic Scoring
Hope Schatz 24, Kaemyn Bekemeier 20, Rilynn Finley 7, Misora Nambara 6, Miha Nambara 5 , Alaina Norman 2
