Marshfield came from behind in the final period to beat Republic 49-45 in the state quarterfinals Saturday at Bolivar. Makenna Smith hit two three-pointers after being shut down by the Republic defense for most of the game.
“The Smith kid really hadn’t done anything the whole game. Give her a ton of credit. She stepped up and hit two big threes when they needed it,” says coach Kris Flood. “We had some chances there. We were definitely trying not to let (Lauren) Aldridge beat us, but that’s what happens with good teams. Someone else steps up, and give Marshfield credit on that.”
Marshfield had actually jumped out to an 11-point lead in the 1st half before Republic fought back. The Lady Tigers took a six-point lead briefly in the 2nd half before Marshfield put together its final run. The Lady Jays outscored Republic 20-12 in the 4th quarter.
The teams traded leads several times in the 4th quarter, and Republic had a two-point lead and the ball with less than two minutes left. But after one Marshfield stop, Aldridge dribbled to the baseline, kicked it out to Smith for a three-pointer, and Marshfield never trailed again.
The Lady Tigers trailed by two with less than 20 seconds left, and went right at the Marshfield defense, but couldn’t get the tying bucket.
“We were going to try to attack it, and I thought (Jordan) Kabetske did a good job,” Flood says of the final possession. “She got in there and I thought there was contact, but in a game like this…a lot of times they’re not going to call it.”
Marshfield got the rebound after Kabetske’s shot missed, and Aldridge made two free throws to account for the final score.
“Unfortunately, that last 55 seconds or so, they make the plays, we didn’t do it,” Flood says. “But they’re a young group. We’ve come a long way. To be 50, 55 seconds away from going to Columbia. You couldn’t ask for anything more.”
Republic ends its season with a 25-6 record, despite fielding a starting lineup with no seniors. Marshfield moves to the state semifinals with a record of 25-5.