Sixteen teams are still alive in Missouri Class 6, and Republic is one of them, thanks to a thrilling 53-49 win over Nixa in the District 5 semifinal. The win was Republic’s 16th in a row, and it sends the Lady Tigers into the district championship game against Kickapoo on Monday.
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It’s also Republic’s third win of the season over Nixa, which has been ranked ahead of the Lady Tigers in the Class 6 coaches poll all year. In the first two meetings, Republic trailed in the second half but came from behind for a two-point and one-point win. Friday, Republic flipped the script and took the lead early, but despite outplaying Nixa in many ways, the Lady Tigers led by one point at halftime because they committed 18 turnovers.
“Most of our games, we have played catch-up, so that’s something we’re familiar with,” said Molly Blades. “But when you have the lead, all the pressure’s on you keeping it there. With a team like Nixa, we always go back and forth with them, and it’s a continuous lead change the whole entire game, so it’s very much more stressful having the lead.”
Nixa led only briefly one time, early in the third quarter. The Lady Eagles outscored Republic 7-3 to open the quarter to take a 29-26 lead. But Republic immediately reeled off nine points in a row to go ahead 35-29 and never trailed again.
Lauren Chastain said the team’s focus turned to defense when Nixa took the lead. “All I could think of is, ‘Get stops,'” she said. “They had that big run and we hit the ‘Oh crap’ button, because that’s normally us. We’re normally the ones who have that run in the second half and we’ve won the last two times. We didn’t want to be in Nixa’s shoes.”
The biggest shot of the night was an improv play by senior Alex Price, who came up clutch in the fourth quarter. After Nixa had forced a turnover and cut Republic’s lead to one, 49-48, with a minute and a half left, Republic was supposed to run the clock until Nixa committed a foul. Instead, Price found herself wide open on the right-side three-point line with 1:03 remaining. “I don’t think we were really supposed to take any threes, but it was wide open, and I knew I was hitting some of my shots, so I just took the shot, and thank God it went in,” Price said.
The shot was Price’s second trey of the fourth quarter and it was the dagger that deflated Nixa. Price made a free throw with about ten seconds left to seal the win.
After trailing throughout their first two meetings with Nixa, coach Kris Flood said Friday’s game presented its own challenges. “It does get a little stressful when you’re just holding onto that lead,” he said. “We had a couple of turnovers there, but we kept getting stops. It just felt like it was nip and tuck. Both teams played really hard and we were fortunate to come out on top.”
Seven different players scored for Republic, and three players were in double figures, including Misora Nambara and Price with 13 each. Blades added 11.
“That’s a team effort. It’s that group of seven seniors, they all played a part in it, and Lanney (Strong) mixing in there. Those seven seniors, they’re not ready for it to come to an end yet,” Flood said.
The season will continue Monday with a district championship game against Kickapoo. Tip-off is set for 6:00.
Score by Quarters
Nixa 12 10 14 13 – 49
Republic 14 9 16 14 – 53
Individual Scoring
Misora Nambara 13, Alex Price 13, Molly Blades 10, Lauren Chastain 7, Lanney Strong 4, Molly Mason 3, Alaina Norman 3