Paelyn Gilmore picked a perfect time for her career-best scoring night. The sophomore guard poured in 17 points, including the game-winning layup with 3.9 seconds left, to lift Republic past Columbia Battle 57-56 Friday.
The Lady Tigers trailed by one when Gilmore attacked the basket, finding a seam in the defense for the decisive score.
“The play was supposed to… go the other way, and she couldn’t get the ball swung,” coach Tori Mooneyham said. “She did what I said. If the play gets broken, you’ve just got to go and… attack. And she’s really good at that.”
Republic led 29-28 at halftime, but Battle opened up a small lead in the third quarter. The teams traded the advantage throughout the fourth quarter, with Battle’s Sway Jones and Jaleah Brookins combining for 12 points in the final period. Jones finished with a game-high 21.
Gilmore’s performance helped offset Jones’s big night. In addition to her scoring, she has given Republic another dimension on both ends of the court since returning to action.
“She’s been a great addition since we got her back, and she just provides another shooting threat,” Mooneyham said. “She can definitely shoot. She can penetrate. She’s also very good defensively. And so I think she’s really filled in some weaknesses that we had early on.”
Addie Brown added 14 points for Republic, including four three-pointers. For Battle, Tayla Robinson scored 14 points.
Mooneyham said the close win was satisfying after so many close losses to good teams to this point in the season.
“It’s a big relief. They put so much work in, and just to see it pay off against a really good team is very rewarding as a coach,” she said. “These kids never give up.”
Republic (7-8) will play for fifth place at 12:30 Saturday against Francis Howell Central, which beat Cape Girardeau Notre Dame 58-47 Friday. The game will be streamed live on our Republic Tiger Sports YouTube channel.
Score by Quarters
Battle: 12-16-12-17-57
Republic: 15-14-11-16-56
Battle Scoring
Sway Jones 21, Tayla Robinson 14, Jaleah Brookins 9, Nyla Warren 7, Brennan Johnson 5
Republic Scoring
Paelyn Gilmore 17, Addie Brown 14, Lanney Strong 9, Josie Stelzer 5, Sammi Watson 5, Awbree Berning 4, Cora Cutbirth 3
