Republic enters a new era in girls basketball this season, with longtime assistant Tori Mooneyham taking the reins after Kris Flood’s retirement. The Lady Tigers face what might be their biggest roster turnover in program history, replacing seven seniors and all five starters from last year’s team.
The preseason effort has been encouraging for Mooneyham. “I’m very pleased with the buy-in from the kids and how hard they’re working,” she said. “Even though it’s early, they’re already buying into some of those things. I have zero complaints of effort. It just looks like they’re having fun.”
Mooneyham brings continuity to the transition, having coached most of the current players at the JV level last season. She said that familiarity gives the team a head start.
“Some of them, this is the fourth year I’ve coached them,” Mooneyham said. “They already know my expectations. We’re almost taking those expectations to the next level. It’s not something that I’m having to teach all over again. They came in already knowing, and so I have good leaders to show the younger kids, ‘Hey, this is the expectation.'”
Mooneyham emphasizes energy and effort as foundational elements of the program’s identity. “I always tell my kids, make people talk about you,” she said. “A lot of that is just with how hard we play. Whether we win games or we lose games, I want people to watch us and say, ‘Man, have you seen that team play?'”
That culture is already taking root. “Even today alone, I’ve had two people hear us practicing in the gym and compliment us on just the noise and the energy that they heard,” Mooneyham said after one preseason practice. “We want it to be hard work, but we want it to be fun, too.”
Senior Lanney Strong leads a small but committed senior class. “Lanney is every coach’s dream,” Mooneyham said. “You can’t get her to leave the gym. She leads by example, and she plays with a lot of heart.”
Strong’s role has evolved from last season. “I think last year she had to play a different role by coming off the bench,” Mooneyham said. “That was hard for her to adjust to, because she hadn’t done that before. And so I think that makes her even more hungry to get to be in that position this year because she is a true leader.”
The senior class includes Kaylee Cornelsen, who embodies the team’s work ethic. “Kaylee is the type of player that does everything that you ask. She’s very coachable,” Mooneyham said. “She does a lot of the little things that a lot of people don’t notice. She’s not going to probably lead stats in anything, but she’s going to do all the dirty work and the hard work.”
Sammi Watson brings offensive versatility as “a very balanced player,” according to Mooneyham, with the ability to attack the basket. Mooneyham calls her a “playmaker” who will bring versatility to the offense.
Annabelle Gerhardt-Hobbs anchors the post. “She’s gotten stronger every year,” Mooneyham said. “She does a good job of creating shots for her guards because she likes to kick the ball out, and I think that she actually sometimes makes the guards better because of her ability to do that.”
Junior Addie Brown has impressed in the preseason. “What I like about Addie is she’s versatile. You can play her as a guard. She has a beautiful shot,” Mooneyham said. “She looks like she’s grown a little bit and gotten a lot stronger. The times that we play her inside, I think she could be a matchup issue possibly for teams, depending on who we have on the floor.”
Awbree Berning will shoulder significant ball-handling duties as a junior. Like Brown, she’s shown a lot of improvement from last season, according to Mooneyham. “You always see a lot of improvement from that sophomore year to junior year,” Mooneyham said. “I feel like Awbree and Addie both have shown that.”
The sophomore class adds depth and athleticism. “Cora (Cutbirth) is extremely athletic,” Mooneyham said. “She makes up for her size with her athleticism. And she’s young and still learning, but just has a lot of athleticism that I think is going to help our team.”
Charlie Hagewood provides additional guard depth. “She’s a good shooter,” Mooneyham said. “She has some quickness. We’ve got some areas where with different combinations we may not be as quick on the floor, but with Charlie, she gives us some quickness.”
Sophomore guard Paelyn Gilmore will join the team at mid-season, and she’ll provide a boost to the team’s ball-handling. Freshman Josie Stalzer could also see some time in that role.
The roster overhaul presents the season’s biggest challenge. “This is probably the biggest turnover we’ve ever had to my knowledge in the history of Republic Lady Tiger basketball, and I’ve pretty much been around for all of it,” Mooneyham said. “Graduating seven seniors and five starters is a lot to replace.”
But Mooneyham sees opportunity in the team’s approach to fundamentals. “I think our strength will be doing the little things, playing hard and being really good at the things we can control,” she said. “We’re excited for the challenge and excited to put the work in and see what we can do.”
The Lady Tigers will find out what they’re made of right away. They open November 26 on the road at El Dorado Springs, last year’s Class 3 state runner-up. After that, they’ll play in the Stephanie Phillips Classic at Kickapoo, with games against powerhouses Fair Grove, Kickapoo, and Strafford.
