Blades leads Republic to second win over Strafford

Junior Molly Blades had the best game of her career, scoring 21 points to lead Republic (16-3) to another win against the Strafford Lady Indians (15-5) in a rematch of their season opener, 51-47.
Republic started off hot, scoring the first 12 points and draining seven threes in the first quarter, outscoring Strafford 25-11. Similar to the season opener, Strafford stormed back in the second and cut the deficit to eight. The Lady Indians outscored Republic 13-7 in the quarter. The comeback continued in the second half, as the Indians held the Lady Tigers’ offense at bay and took the lead, 35-34, with 2:30 remaining in the third. Strafford outscored Republic in the quarter 13-6.
Republic held the lead entering the final eight minutes and let Strafford retake the lead only once the rest of the game. Republic outscored Strafford 13-10 in the final period to hold on, earning a win over another state-ranked opponent (Class 3, No. 1). Republic resumes conference play this week with games against Branson and Carthage.