Republic’s bid to stay perfect vanished in a volatile second-quarter sequence Thursday, as an 11-0 Lady Tiger run was immediately answered by a matching 11-0 Strafford surge in a 65-48 loss.
The game swung on a three-minute stretch in the first half. Trailing 17-11, Republic used a flurry of perimeter shooting from Paelyn Gilmore and Charlie Hagewood to seize a 22-17 lead. Strafford responded instantly, reclaiming a 28-22 advantage before halftime and maintaining a double-digit cushion for the most of the rest of the night. Elsie Larsen powered Strafford with 30 points.
“The issues we had were not what I predicted,” coach Tori Mooneyham said. “I knew they were going to get their points. Elsie Larsen, she’s such a good player. It wasn’t necessarily about stopping her. It was what we could do on the other end, and we just didn’t have any energy on offense”.
Republic relied heavily on the three-pointer as Strafford’s defense limited interior looks. Gilmore led the Lady Tigers with 14 points, including four triples, while Hagewood added nine points on three long-range shots. Kinley Kilburn chipped in seven points, but Republic managed just 10 two-point field goals as a team.
Strafford put four players in double figures.
“They guarded us hard, and we didn’t respond,” Mooneyham said. “We did a lot of standing and a lot of dribbling. We didn’t make their defense work at all, and (we) just really got nothing on offense. When you don’t have energy on offense, your shots don’t fall, and ours did not fall tonight”.
The Lady Tigers limited Strafford to five offensive rebounds but were hindered by turnovers and a 4-of-9 mark from the free-throw line.
Republic falls to 3-1. The Lady Tigers are off until the Pink & White Tournament opener against Springfield Catholic on December 26.
Score by quarters
Strafford 15 22 10 18 — 65
Republic 9 17 8 14 — 48
Individual scoring
Gilmore 14, Hagewood 9, Kilburn 7, Stalzer 6, Berning 5, Steele 5, Brown 2
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