For two quarters, the Republic Lady Tigers went toe-to-toe with one of the best high school basketball teams in the country. But the second half was a different story, as Columbia Rock Bridge pulled away for a 64-44 win at the Route 66 Shootout at Waynesville.
Rock Bridge, featuring last year’s Class 5 Player of the Year, Sophie Cunningham, took control with a 21-10 third quarter, stretching a three-point halftime lead to 47-33. Cunningham ended with 31 points–20 of them after the halftime break. Cierra Porter, who will join Cunningham at the University of Missouri next year, added 19 points and ten rebounds.
Despite the final score, Republic did not come out intimidated. A three-pointer by Jordan Kabetske at the end of the first quarter tied the score 11-11. The Lady Tigers led the game for much of the second quarter before Rock Bridge put together a small run to grab a 26-23 lead at the break.
“We came out and you see what happens when we execute…our game plan,” says coach Kris Flood. “We were hitting some shots in the first half. That always helps. We were rebounding and taking care of the ball and we were doing…all the keys that we had planned on trying to do.”
After halftime, Rock Bridge’s size began to be a factor. With two starters at 6’4″ and Cunningham at 6’1″, the Bruins out-rebounded the Lady Tigers 32-17. Rock Bridge had 11 offensive boards and scored 18 second-chance points in the game.
“In the third quarter, we…quit executing. I thought we quit attacking,” says Flood. “It seemed like we were very tentative offensively, then they took it to another notch there offensively and we didn’t handle it very well. They showed why they’re number one and 14th in the nation.”
After making five of eight three-point attempts in the first half, Republic was 0-for-9 in the second half. They ended up shooting just 35% from the floor for the game, compared to 56% for Rock Bridge.
Jordan Kabetske and Brooke Stanfield led the Lady Tigers with 13 points apiece. Michayla Shanks scored nine. Tori Taylor added four. Micah Mansker and Jade Sawyer scored two apiece, and Logan Flood had one point.
Flood says his team learned something important about itself in the loss.
“We can compete with anybody. But we have to play for 32 minutes and not just 16 minutes,” he says. “We have some situations where we get away with that. But this level–and as we progress hopefully through the Pink and White–you have to make sure you’re focused and you have to play at a very high level the whole time.”
Rock Bridge improves to 6-0. The Lady Tigers fall to 5-1. Republic will be on the court next for the opener of the Pink & White Tournament. They have a #1 seed and will open against Mount Vernon at 9:30 am on December 27th at the O’Reilly Family Event Center.