WEBB CITY, Mo. — After a close first half, visiting Republic pulled away for good in the third period en route to a 50-23 Central Ozark Conference girls basketball victory over Webb City on Friday night inside the Cardinal Dome.
Taking on one of the COC’s top teams, the Cardinals stayed within striking distance for the entire first half.
But the Tigers outscored the Cardinals 27-10 after the break, as a lack of offense was too much to overcome for the hosts.
“I thought we did a good job defensively throughout the course of the game,” Cardinals coach Lance Robbins said. “I thought we did a pretty good job to hold them to 50 points. They are a good basketball team and they score the ball well. I thought our zone caused some problems for them early, but we just couldn’t get anything going offensively. We just have to continue to get better.”
Senior guard Sierra Kimbrough scored nine points to lead Webb City (7-12, 2-5 COC), while classmate Jaydee Duda added seven. Kimbrough announced her commitment to Bethany College this week.
The Tigers, who are receiving votes in the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association’s Class 6 poll, improved to 16-7 overall and 7-1 in the COC.
Sophomore guard Kaemyn Bekemeier led Republic with 25 points, while senior guard Savana Powell-Goodman added nine.
The Tigers scored the game’s first eight points, but the Cardinals received a trey from Duda and a runner in the lane from Kimbrough, cutting their deficit to three by the end of the low-scoring opening frame.
Led by their solid defense, the hosts stayed within a possession or two of the Tigers for most of the second quarter.
Two charities from Kimbrough, a mid-range jumper from Malorie Stanley and a free throw from Josie Spikereit cut Republic’s lead to three.
But the Tigers finished the first half on a 7-1 burst for a 22-13 halftime advantage.
“If we would have made layups and free throws, we could have been up five or six at the half,” Robbins noted.
Republic separated for good by outscoring Webb City 13-3 in the third quarter. Bekemeier scored seven points during the spurt, which gave the Tigers a 35-16 lead.
The Cardinals’ only points of the third frame came on a Kimbrough trey.
Republic outscored Webb City 15-7 in the fourth quarter for the final margin.
Webb City is right back at it tomorrow afternoon, as the Cardinals host Neosho at 1 p.m. Neosho suffered a 70-29 loss to Nixa on Friday.
“It’s a quick turnaround for us,” Robbins said. “It’s going to be a battle with Neosho. We’ll have to play well and continue to play defense like we did tonight. We have to find some offense and score the ball better.”
