Lady Tigers smash records in two league wins

The Lady Tigers broke four different school records in two games last week, first at Willard, then at Joplin.

Republic 80, Willard 64

Four days after Kaemyn Bekemeier set a new school mark with 38 points in a win over Carthage, she demolished her own record with a 48-point night at Willard. Bekemeier hardly missed a shot all night, making 18 of 21 field goal attempts. In addition to her new points record, the 18 field goals broke the previous record of 16 in a game, set by Kim Messier in 1988.

Eight different players scored for Republic, including Bekemeier.

"It's getting towards the end of the season. I think we're flowing a lot better as a team. We're gaining more confidence in ourselves and ... we're believing in each other a lot more. You can definitely feel it a lot more," Bekemeier said.

Republic 64, Joplin 31

Thursday at Joplin, the rest of the team got in on the record-breaking act. Hope Schatz led the way with eight three-pointers, a new program record, in just eight attempts. And the team finished with 14 three-pointers, also a record.

Schatz’s perfect shooting night was one of the best single-game shooting displays in girls basketball history in Missouri. According to the Missouri State High School Activities Association record book, only one player had more three-pointers without a miss. (Brooke Littrell of Green City was 9-for-9 vs. La Plata in 2020.)

"I knew I was hitting, but I didn't know I was going for a record or anything," Schatz said. "My teammates just...passed me the ball and it happened. I thought I had like five or six."

Schatz's eight threes are the most in school history, breaking a mark set by Alice Heinzler against Dexter in a game played at West Plains in 2013.

After Thursday’s win at Joplin, a Republic player had broken at least one individual school record in three consecutive games. Bekemeier broke her own single-game scoring mark against Carthage Saturday, broke it again Tuesday at Willard, in addition to breaking the single-game field goals mark. Schatz made it three games in a row with her three-point record Thursday.