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GIRLS HOOPS: Perimeter shooting boosts Republic to big win over Joplin in COC action

By:
Lucas Davis

No. 10 Republic got hot from the perimeter while building a double-digit lead in the first quarter, riding the momentum to a 64-31 win over Joplin in Central Ozark Conference action on Thursday.

Republic knocked down four 3-points in the opening quarter to build an 18-6 advantage before using a heavy dose of perimeter scoring in the second to push the lead to 25 points by the intermission. The Tigers pushed the lead to 30 early in the second half and never wavered.

“We played a really good team that shot the lights out of the ball,” Joplin coach Luke Floyd said. “I just didn’t do a very good job of preparing our team to come out and play tonight. This falls on me. There is a gap between us and Republic, but not the gap the size of the Grand Canyon like it seemed tonight.”

GAME ACTION

Republic knocked down the first three shots of the game, all from 3-point land with two of the makes coming off Joplin turnovers, to take a 9-0 lead out of the gate. 

The Eagles got a bucket off the drive from Ella Hafer and a pair of free throws from Brynn Driver to trim the margin to five, but the Tigers scored the next nine points and eventually took an 18-6 lead into the second period. Kaemyn Bekemeier had four points in the run, while Hope Schatz added a 3-pointer.

“We talked about it in the locker room,” Floyd said. “We can’t win games if we turn the ball over. It’s not to discredit Republic because they are a good defensive team, but a lot of our turnovers are us simply turning the ball over. It’s like we create new ways to turn the ball over. And that falls back on me not coming up with a drill or finding some way for us to take care of the ball better in practice.”

Republic started the second quarter on an 18-0 run to essentially put the game out of reach by building a 30-point cushion, 36-6, with 3:05 left in the first half. The Tigers buried four 3-pointers during the run, three coming from Schatz and another from Miha Nambara. Bekemeier added six points in the run.

“I think a lot of our problems right now are between the ears,” Floyd said. “We come out against these better teams and we don’t think we can compete with them. Then, we come out and we play like that.

“Everybody they brought into the game could shoot the ball. But, like we talked about with the girls, those shots look a lot better when you allow dribble penetration into the point before they kick it out for a wide-open shots. At some point, we have to make an adjustment and run at the shooters to make them put the ball on the ground. But, again, that comes back on me for not having a better strategy on defense to keep us in games longer.”

Ashley Phillips got the Eagles on the board with a pair of makes at the charity stripe, with Hafer scoring five points for Joplin in the second quarter. The Tigers led 38-13 at the intermission.

Republic pushed the lead to 30 points after Misora Nambara opened the second half with a 3-ball and Bekemeier pulled up from mid-range in transition and played with that pace through the second half.

SCORING LEADERS

The Tigers converted 14 times from 3-point range in the win. Schatz led the way with eight 3-pointers and a game-high 24 points in the process. Bekemeier had two 3-pointers and finished with 20 points. 

Hafer finished with 14 points in the loss, while Brooke Nice finished with five for Joplin.

UP NEXT

Joplin is at Carl Junction in conference action on Tuesday.

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