Five days can make a big difference.
Just last Saturday, Republic lost to Strafford by 27 points on a neutral court. Thursday night, in Strafford’s home gym, the Lady Tigers showed how much they’d learned in less than a week, staying within striking distance throughout a 53-44 loss.
Republic closed the gap to one point early in the second quarter at 13-12, but Strafford responded with seven straight points. The home team outscored Republic 12-3 for the remainder of the second quarter to grab a ten-point halftime lead. Strafford pushed its advantage to 14 points twice in the third quarter before Republic mounted a comeback, going on a 13-6 run spanning the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth to cut the lead to seven. That was as close as they would get.
Addie Brown led Republic with a career-high 12 points, all on three-pointers. Sammi Watson added nine points, Lanney Strong scored eight, and Cora Cutbirth contributed seven in Republic’s most balanced offensive performance this season.
“Our goal tonight was to improve and I think we accomplished that goal,” Republic coach Tori Mooneyham said. “The girls came in on Monday with their heads held high after a tough week and came ready to work. We had good practices all week and I think it showed tonight.”
Kinley Larson and Elsie Larson combined for 31 points to lead Strafford, after scoring 45 in Saturday’s matchup. Kinley finished with 17 and Elsie added 14.
“I couldn’t be more proud of this group. They showed me tonight they will not quit,” Mooneyham said. “We aren’t where we need to be yet but we are getting there.”
Strafford improved to 5-3 while Republic fell to 0-5.
Score by Quarters
Strafford 11-14-18-10-53
Republic 8-7-16-13-44
Strafford Scoring
Kinley Larsen 17, Elsie Larsen 14, Brooklyn Adney 5, Lydia Goodin 4, Trista VanHorn 4, Ellie Heil 3, Lizzy VanHorn 3, Zoe Allison 2
Republic Scoring
Addie Brown 12, Sammi Watson 9, Lanney Strong 8, Cora Cutbirth 7, Awbree Berning 4, Josie Stelzer 3, Charlie Hagewood 1
