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Nevada Lady Tigers fall to Republic at home, 58-21
By Eric Wade
Daily Mail Sports Editor
The Nevada Lady Tigers basketball team got its first chance of the season to play in Wynn Gymnasium Monday night, taking on the stiffest competition of the season, thus far, in the Republic Lady Tigers.
"They're a very good team," Lady Tigers head coach Brent Bartlett said of the opposition after the contest. "They pass the ball well, shoot the ball well, put a lot of pressure on us."
That pressure and high-powered offense Republic has been known for in recent years ultimately proved to be too much for the Lady Tigers to handle as Bartlett's squad never really got much of anything going in a 58-21 defeat.
The two squads were originally scheduled to square off inside Wynn Gymnasium on Saturday, but the threat of winter weather forced school officials to move the game back two days. Though the Lady Tigers were able to use those two extra days to get a little bit more preparation in, it didn't matter as Republic took control early and never let up.
Though it was clear right from the start who had the advantage, it was equally clear the Lady Tigers were unafraid as they took the floor. Despite the fact that the offense never really got going, the Lady Tigers were certainly not short on physicality on the defensive end of the floor, forcing Republic to work for its points on nearly every possession.
"It's a physical game," Bartlett said. "We're starting to post up better and play more physical."
Republic returned the favor, however, bringing its own brand of physical play into the contest, on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor. By the time all was said and done, that proved to be all head coach Kris Flood's Lady Tigers needed as they opened up a 22-6 lead after the game's first 8 minutes.
Despite the early hole, however, the Lady Tigers never gave in to the pressure and continued to try to dictate the pace and play their game. The most significant downfall for Bartlett's squad was one that has plagued Nevada throughout the season, the simple fact that open shots wouldn't fall.
"You know, we scrapped and did a lot of good things," Bartlett said. "We just didn't knock the shots down."
In the opening half, the Lady Tigers made just five of their 22 field-goal attempts and went just 3-for-8 from the charity stripe. Republic, however, shot 13-for-25 from the field and 7-for-9 from the stripe to take a 38-14 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
Things never did get better for the Lady Tigers as they finished the contest shooting just 6-for-28 from the field and 8-for-24 from the stripe.
"We missed 17 free throws, I think," Bartlett said. "Gosh, that tells me we were aggressive, but I think we're a better free throw shooting team than that."
Those shooting woes were all Republic needed to continue to pull away. By the time the fourth quarter began, the hole had grown to more than 30 points, forcing the use of the running clock through the rest of the contest.
Though the Lady Tigers did keep up the aggression and attempted to push the pace as the minutes wore on in the second half, Republic ultimately won the second half, 20-7, to seal the 47-point victory.
By game's end, Republic had the advantage in nearly every offensive and defensive category. The most significant of those, according to Bartlett, was the rebounds as Republic finished with 30 to Nevada's 23, along with an 11-9 rebounding edge on the offensive end of the floor.
"We gave up some offensive rebounds I didn't like," he said.
Rilie Good led the offensive effort for Nevada with nine points. That effort led all scorers on the night as Republic finished with three players tied for the team lead with eight apiece.
Though the Lady Tigers ultimately came out on the short end of a very lopsided score, Bartlett was still impressed with his team's effort and still has high hopes, going forward.
"Playing that team is only going to make us better, even though the score was the way it was," he said.
Nevada's junior varsity squad was in action on the night, as well, and had its own set of problems. In that contest, Republic cruised to a 48-13 victory, after leading, 28-6, at halftime.
The Lady Tigers won't have to wait long to see whether or not they will be able to learn from Monday's experiences and get better as they are set to get right back in action on Tuesday, against another tough opponent. Bartlett's squad is set to take back to the road to take on Marionville, in a varsity/JV doubleheader at 6 p.m.
"We're playing good competition," Bartlett said. "We're only going to get better."