A pair of 20-win teams squared off in the quarterfinals of the Class 6 District 5 tournament, and Republic used a strong second half to outlast Lebanon, 67-53. Third-seeded Republic never trailed, but never managed to put Lebanon away until the final minutes. It was a 28-12 run in the middle of the second half that helped the Lady Tigers assert control.
Kaemyn Bekemeier helped the Lady Tigers overcome a cold shooting start and difficulty on the boards with a big first half. Republic let Lebanon stay close with second-chance points, and the Lady Tigers had trouble hitting open looks on the offensive end of the floor. Bekemeier scored 13 of Republic 17 points in the first quarter, and she had 23 at halftime, as the Lady Tigers took a 30-27 lead into the break. Republic led by ten points, 28-18, late in the second quarter, but Lebanon closed the half on a 9-2 run to close the gap.
Rilynn Finley opened the second half with a three-pointer, but Lebanon fought back to pull within a bucket at 35-33. But Republic outscored the Yellow Jackets 28-12 over the next several minutes, gaining the biggest lead of the day at 63-45. With Republic’s starters on the bench, Lebanon cut the lead back to 12 again, but that was as close as the Yellow Jackets would get.
“I thought the kids took care of the ball (during the 28-12 run),” said coach Kris Flood. We finally hit some shots in the second half. In the first half, we were our own worst enemy. We missed a couple of easy layups. We talked that maybe they were coming too quick – we were expecting them (to be contested).”
Bekemeier finished with 33 points for Republic. Miha Nambara scored 10 to join her in double figures.
Republic improves to 21-6. Lebanon ends its season at 20-7. The Lady Tigers (3) will play Nixa (2) in the semifinals on March 1 at 7:30 pm. Nixa beat Joplin (7) in their quarterfinal, 78-54, and beat Republic in their earlier meeting in Nixa.
Kickapoo (1) will meet Ozark (4) in the other semifinals. Ozark beat Kickapoo last time they played.
Republic Scoring
Kaemyn Bekemeier 33, Miha Nambara 10, Rilynn Finley 9, Misora Nambara 7, Alaina Norman 4, Hope Schatz 4