Tiger basketballers stay perfect on season with pair of wins

Republic Lady Tigers show progress, growth in loss to Strafford
Republic’s boys basketball team pushed its record to 6–0 with a pair of victories last week. The Tigers topped Hillcrest on the road Tuesday, then picked up a win at Blue Valley West in Kansas Friday.
Brenley Hagewood scored 37 points in the 68–53 road win at Hillcrest, the highest scoring total by a Tiger in more than three years. Hagewood sparked a 15–0 run after Republic trailed 14–8 in the first quarter. He scored 15 points in the second quarter as Republic outscored Hillcrest 21–6 to build a 32–20 halftime lead.
“I just knew I needed to attack them,” Hagewood said. “I knew that if I kept attacking… them, I knew that I could possibly get fouls, get my teammates open. Things just happen if I’m attacking.”
The Tigers stretched their lead to 18 points early in the third quarter. When Hillcrest cut the lead to nine points in the fourth, Hagewood helped slam the door with 11 points in the final period. Keiran Govan added seven points for Republic.
Friday night, Republic’s defense helped grind out a 50–38 win at Blue Valley West in Overland Park, Kan. The Tigers outscored Blue Valley West 15–5 in the second quarter and pulled away after leading by nine points at halftime.
Hagewood led all scorers with 26 points. Davin Parks added 14 for Republic.
“Tonight, we had to hit the road and face a very physical, athletic, and disciplined team,” coach Tim Brown said. “We knew it was going to come down to toughness and execution, and I thought our guys excelled in both areas. On both ends of the floor, we stayed connected, focused on the next play, and never let up.”
 
Lady Tigers
Republic’s girls basketball team trimmed 20 points off its previous margin of defeat against Strafford, falling 53–44 on the road Thursday night. The game came five days after a 27-point loss to the same team.
Republic closed to within one point at 13–12 early in the second quarter before Strafford responded with seven straight points. Strafford led by ten at halftime and pushed its advantage to 14 points twice in the third quarter. The Lady Tigers mounted a comeback, using a 13–6 run late in the third quarter and early in the fourth to cut the lead to seven.
Addie Brown led Republic with a career-high 12 points, all on three-pointers. Sammi Watson added nine points, Lanney Strong scored eight, and Cora Cutbirth contributed seven.
“Our goal tonight was to improve, and I think we accomplished that goal,” Republic coach Tori Mooneyham said. “The girls came in on Monday with their heads held high after a tough week and came ready to work. We had good practices all week and I think it showed tonight.”
Kinley Larson and Elsie Larson combined for 31 points to lead Strafford, after scoring 45 in Saturday’s matchup.
Strafford improved to 5–3 while Republic fell to 0–5.