The Lady Tigers’ shooting touch from beyond the three-point arc was about as cold as it could be Monday night. They still almost managed to sneak away with a victory. A dismal shooting performance doomed the Lady Tigers in a season-opening loss at Lee’s Summit West Monday, 47-42. But despite making only one of 25 three-point attempts, Republic stayed in the game until the final moments.
The Lady Tigers fell behind by ten points twice — once in the first half and once in the second half. Both times, they fought back to tie the game, only to see the Lady Titans make a key play. In the final minute, it was Daphne Plummer who made the plays. After Republic had tied the game 42-42, Lee’s Summit West got the ball to Plummer in the right corner. Her 3-pointer put Lee’s Summit in control.
After another time out, Brylee Manes’ three-point attempt was partially blocked, and it was Plummer who grabbed the rebound, got fouled, and walked to the other end to make two free throws and put the game away.
Taylor Fergen was the offensive bright spot for Republic. She scored 21 points, mostly on short pull-up jumpers off the dribble. Brylee Manes scored eight. Megan Branstetter had five. Allyson Barrett had three points and so did Natalie Bennett––on Republic’s only three-pointer of the night. Madison Beckham scored two.
Coach Kris Flood says he knew the offense might struggle at times early in the season.
“This was a concern–having people fill in for those kids that we lost, and picking up that scoring burden. We’re going to have some help with that,” he says. “I thought Fergen did as much as she could, but we’re going to have to have some other people to help her out.”
Taylor Fergen is the lone returning starter from last year’s 25-win Republic team, and Monday night she played like it. She scored 21 points, helping keep Republic in the game despite a dismal team shooting performance. She’s this year’s first Coldwell Banker Player of the Game.
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Defensively, after committing 11 fouls in the first quarter, the Lady Tigers settled down and played better. Their pressure defense forced several turnovers to give them a chance.
“On the positive , we did battle back and we did tie the game up, and we had a chance if we got a stop to maybe win the game,” Flood says. “Give a ton of credit. They hit some shots when they needed to and they just did enough to win the game.
Republic falls to 0-1. They’re back in action Tuesday at Belton, continuing a two-game road trip to the Kansas City area to start the season.