The Lady Tigers will host Neosho tonight. The game was originally listed as a road game on the schedule. Tipoff for JV is at 6 p.m., with varsity to begin after that.
Republic Honors Ramsey
February 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Republic High School honored former basketball player Kyra Ramsey during its homecoming game Friday. Her all-state plaque will be hung alongside other former all-state athletes from Republic.
Ramsey played four seasons for the Lady Tigers, and started on the varsity team her senior year, earning second-team all-state honors. She led the team in steals and assists both her junior and senior seasons. Her senior year, she was named the team’s defensive most valuable player.
“Kyra took a tremendous amount of pride in playing defense,” says Republic coach Kris Flood. “She played with heart, and had a true desire to do whatever it took to help her team come out on top.”
Ramsey helped Republic win three district championships, and make an appearance in the state quarterfinals her senior year. That season, the Lady Tigers were 22-7, and finished as runners-up in the COC, with a 6-1 conference record. Ramsey earned all-conference and all-district honors that season, too.
Ramsey also played volleyball for two years, and was a member of the National Honor Society. She graduated with a 4.0 grade point average.
Ramsey is currently a starting guard for the Baker University Wildcats in Baldwin, Kansas.
One Last Stop Lets Republic Squeak by Carthage
February 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Jake Fletcher poked the ball away to disrupt Carthage’s final possession, and a final jumper in the lane by Carthage’s Kyle Reed bounded away as time expired, giving Republic a 69-68 win in a matchup of two of southwest Missouri’s best teams. (See video.) The final defensive stop thwarted a comeback by Carthage, who had trailed 65-58 with just over three minutes left.
Nick Yocum led the way for Republic with 20 points, including four 3-pointers. He had 15 in the first half. Canyon Smith added 10. Marcus Miller and Jake Fletcher scored 8 apiece. Grant Hancock had 7. Payton Looney and Dylan Bekemeier had 6 apiece, and Cody Geiger scored 4 for the Tigers.
Desmond Buerge scored 27 points for Carthage to lead all scorers.
Republic gave up the first seven points of the game, but ripped off eight in a row to take the lead. They trailed again at 9-8, but never lost the lead the rest of the way. It was 18-13 after one quarter, and 38-32 at halftime. The Tigers built an 11-point lead midway through the 3rd quarter before Carthage closed the gap down the stretch. The margin was down to 55-50 by the end of the third quarter.
Carthage gradually closed the gap to one point with about 12 seconds left, and had a final crack at the win. Payton Looney committed a foul, forcing Carthage to take the ball out of bounds with 4 seconds left, setting up the final defensive stop.
Both teams are now 18-4.
The JV team beat Carthage 67-46.
Before the varsity game, Taylor Wells was crowned 2012 Courtwarming Queen.
Unbeaten x 2
February 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment
One of the valuable lessons of competitive sports is learning how to lose. But that’s a lesson that will have to wait for Republic’s 8th grade girls basketball team. Both the A and B teams went undefeated during their junior high careers, with a combined record of 52-0 in two seasons.
Coach Tonia Herbold says the undefeated run was the product of several factors.
“They’re pretty deep on the bench, and they have a lot of talent,” she says. “They have this will to win. We were down 13 points (against Ozark in the COC Tournament), and came back and one the game. They’re just real dedicated.”
And Herbold says basketball smarts played a role in the team’s success, too. “If you ask them to do something,” she says, “you usually don’t have to tell them twice.”
The 8th grade A team went 13-0 this season, and 28-0 overall. The B team was 24-0 in two years. The team’s depth allowed Herbold to substitute liberally, shuffling some players between the two squads.
Republic’s closest competition in two seasons was with Ozark, the team that had Republic down by 13 points in the first half at the COC Tournament. But the Lady Tigers battled back in that game to lead at halftime, and went on to compile an overall 6-0 record against Ozark in two years. 
The success at the 8th grade level didn’t come without a good support system. The 7th grade team was also very good, finishing this year at 10-3. That talent helped push the 8th graders in practice all year.
“In practice we put our starting 7th grade starting five with our starting 8th grade five, then we mix kids in and out,” says Herbold. “It makes it much more competitive in practice, if we scrimmage.
“And our 8th graders make our 7th graders better. They feed off each other.”
Morgan’s Big Finish Leads Carthage Past Republic
February 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment
The Republic Lady Tigers started fast, but Carthage finished faster, coming from behind to beat Republic 55-46.
The Lady Tigers jumped ahead early, thanks to a big first quarter by Sarah Kreul. She had 11 points in the first eight minutes, as Republic built an 18-11 lead. But Carthage adjusted, and clawed back to take the lead 28-27 at halftime.
The second half stayed close most of the way. Republic recaptured the lead 37-36 at the end of the fourth quarter.
But Carthage’s Kaylee Morgan took over down the stretch, and that made the difference. Morgan scored 10 of her game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter to deliver the victory to Carthage.
Kreul and Kayla Bartelsmeyer both finished with 13 points for Republic.
With the loss, Republic falls to 13-7.
Lady Tigers Drop Home Game to Glendale
February 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Republic all-state violinist Luke Thomas played a stirring rendition of the national anthem before Wednesday’s varsity girls game against Glendale. And not much else went right for Republic all night, as they lost 53-40.
The Lady Tigers fell behind 16-6 after one period, and never seriously challenged the Lady Falcons. Republic fell behind by 13 in the 2nd quarter before using a mini-run to close the gap to 30-22 at halftime. It was 40-30 after three periods.
Brooke Dutton led the Lady Tigers with 14 points. Sarah Kreul had 10, all in the second half. Julia Wells had 21 points to lead Glendale.
The loss drops Republic’s record to 13-6. Glendale improves to 16-3.
11 Tigers Score in Big Home Win
January 31, 2012 By Leave a Comment
The Republic Tigers got big games from their three post players against an outsized Central Bulldogs team, in a 76-35 win at home Monday. Eleven players scored in all for Republic, who ran their record to 17-4. Grant Hancock led the Tigers with 14 points. Fellow inside players Cody Geiger and Marcus Miller scored 9 points apiece.
All nine of Miller’s points came in the first quarter, as the Tigers built a big early lead. Miller started the scoring with two free throws in the first minute, and ended the quarter with 9 points. The Tigers led 9-0 at one point, and 24-10 after one period.
The Tigers ran the lead to 49-26 at halftime, and led 68-34 by the end of the third period, triggering a continuously running clock in the fourth.
Nick Yocum added 12 points for the Tigers. Jake Fletcher and Payton Looney had 8 apiece. Canyon Smith scored 6, Zach White added 4, and Pierce Pittman, Derric Mertes, and Ty Abney scored 2 apiece.
Trey Robinson had 10 points to lead Central.
Republic is back in action Friday for homecoming against Carthage. The night will include a chili supper and silent auction hosted by the Tiger Pride Band, starting at 5 p.m.
Freshman Boys Win COC Opener
January 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment
The Republic freshman boys overcame a late charge by Carthage to win their opening game in the COC Tournament at Branson, 37-31.
Cory Lafferty scored 15 points, including 7-for-7 from the free throw line, to lead Republic. Brady McGill added 10 for the Tigers.
Carthage jumped to an 9-2 lead at the end of the first quarter, but Republic came back to lead 16-11 at halftime. It was 26-23 Republic heading into the fourth quarter, and Carthage briefly took the lead with about three minutes left in the game. But McGill drained a key 3-pointer down the stretch, and the Tigers hit all six of their free throws in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
Halftime Adjustments Lift Tigers to 2nd Tourney Crown
January 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment
For the second night in a row, Republic overcame a halftime deficit to win. But this time, it was for a tournament title. The Tigers used stingy defense to shut down host Rogersville 51-42, winning the Rogersville Tournament championship. It’s the second tournament win of the season for the Tigers, who also captured the Blue and Gold Tournament earlier this season.
Republic scored just 7 points in the first quarter and 17 in the first half, but trailed only by two at halftime. Both teams opened the game with cold shooting. The Tigers failed to hit a 3-pointer in the entire first half, and Rogersville missed several easy buckets inside.
At halftime, coach Gary Stanfield says his biggest adjustment was reminding his players of things they already knew. “It’s thing that we’ve worked on, and you’re going to be frustrated if you don’t do those things,” he says. “It’s all about spacing and decision-making. We’ve struggled a little bit with that, but hopefully we’ve turned the corner.”
The action picked up in the 3rd quarter, at least for the Tigers, who outscored the Wildcats 12-7 in the period. Republic’s outside game finally got going, as Nick Yocum and Canyon Smith hit 3-pointers. Going into the final quarter, Republic led 29-26.
Down the stretch, it was Republic free throw shooting that made the difference. The Tigers finished the game 19 of 22 from the free throw line.
Republic improves to 16-4 this season. Perhaps more importantly, they are 6-0 against their three top district rivals, Marshfield, Rogersville and Hillcrest.
