The Republic Lady Tigers overcame a sluggish start to beat McDonald County 49-37 and advance to the state quarterfinals. Republic had beaten McDonald County twice previously this season, but the Lady Mustangs were not intimidated. They handled Republic’s full-court pressure and used hot shooting to open up an early lead. A pair of 3-pointers by Kenzie Dill made it 15-7, before Alex Botkin hit a 3-pointer to end the quarter and cut the lead to 15-10.
Republic coach Kris Flood called off the full-court press in the second quarter and went into a half-court zone defense. That was the key stretch of the game for Republic. They outscored McDonald County 13-2 in the period, and took a 23-17 lead into the break.
In the 3rd quarter, Republic pushed the lead into double figures. Two free throws by Kyra Ramsey made it a 10-point margin. A steal and a layup by Alexis Edwards made it 33-21, and a short jumper by Lindsey Carlson gave the Lady Tigers a 15-point lead. Republic led 37-21 after three quarters, and hung on through a sloppy 4th quarter for the win.
Edwards led the Lady Tigers with 15 points. Payton Rayl had 9. Alex Botkin scored 7. Kyra Ramsey had 6, Alice Heinzler 5, and Sarah Kreul had 2 points for Republic.
The Lady Tigers improve to 22-6. They take their #2 state ranking into a quarterfinal matchup against St. Francis Borgia (16-11).