There was no second-guessing from Ozark's corner Monday, after a trio of missed 3-pointers cleared the way for Republic to rally and claim a 46-44 victory.
Ozark let leads of 39-34 and 42-38 slip away over the final minutes.
Coach Brandon Clift and his players shared the same opinion that the 3s Ozark missed during that stretch were worth taking.
"They were good looks, they just didn't fall," guard Macey Sult said. "We just couldn't seem to hit one in the last couple minutes. Those are pressure 3s and are hard to make. If we keep practicing them and maybe next game if it comes down to that again, we can make those."
"I told the girls I wouldn't change the shots," Clift said. "I was pleased with the looks. That's just the way the game goes sometimes."
"I would put those same shots out there for my teammates every day," forward Sydney Hampton said. "I trust them completely. They are great shooters. I don't think they were selfish shots or bad shots. They just didn't fall in our favor this time. Any other time, I feel we would get one."
Sult, who had four 3-pointers on the night, had one of the late missed 3s. She won't hesitate to try the same shot in the same situation in the future.
"(Clift) told me it was a good shot," Sult said. "That makes me confident to take those again in games like that. He reassured me to be confident and take those again."
Ozark's final missed 3 with 1:10 remaining allowed Republic to hold the ball to set up Kaemyn Bekemeier's game-winning 12-foot jumper with :04 remaining.
Republic (20-3 overall and 6-1 in the COC) ran isolation plays for Bekemeier over the final few minutes, not coincidentally clearing the court to her left. On her game-winner, Ozark came with a double-team, but left an opening for her to go left. As Bekemeier seemingly always does when preparing for a mid-range jumper, she went left, took a step back and hit nothing but net.
She finished with 24 points.
"A lot of her points came on her step-back jumper over the top of us," Hampton said.
"We knew they were going to get Kaemyn the ball and we did what we could," Sult said. "She's been a good player for years. I imagine she's had multiple situations where it came down to a shot like that. She hit the shot they needed."
Ozark's ensuing in-bounds pass downcourt was long and bounced out of bounds untouched. That was the hosts' only turnover in the fourth quarter.
"If you had told me we were going to turn the ball over one time in the fourth quarter, I think any coach would take that," Clift said. "Republic does a great job pressuring man-to-man. Our girls handled it very well."
A premier matchup all night was Ozark point guard Molly Rushing bringing the ball upcourt against tight pressure applied by Republic's Molly Blades. Neither player flinched.
Ozark's half-court offense set up points in the paint and Sult's four treys.
"I was pleased with our ability to get to the rim and inside-out 3s were ones we want to take," Clift said. "Something we worked a lot on in practice is making reads when we get downhill toward the basket and making the decision, 'Do we score, pass it down or kick it out for an open shot.'"
Ozark (12-11 overall and 5-2 in the COC) is 1-2 in overtime games and has had a pair of two-point losses.
"We've had so many close games," Hampton said. "They're heart-wrenchers when you lose them. But I think it's all going to be worth it in the end because eventually it's going to come for us."
"I'm ready to win," Sult said.
An Ozark win would have made the Class 6 District 5 seedings meeting Friday interesting. As things stand, Republic surely will draw the No. 1 seed, followed by some sort of combination of Nixa, Kickapoo and Glendale, while Ozark seems destined for the No. 5 seed.
Ozark could get the chance to avenge a triple-overtime loss to Glendale and beyond that, may get another shot at Republic.
"It will be interesting to see where everybody falls,' Clift said. "Wherever we fall, I'm looking forward to the challenge and the girls are ready."
Ozark hosts COC leader Carl Junction (22-1 and 6-0), ranked No. 1 in Class 5, on Thursday.
"The task at hand is we have two days to get ready and take on another really good opponent," Clift said. "We're looking forward to it."
Republic 46, Ozark 44
REPUBLIC (46) — Nambara 1 0-0 2, Chastain 2 1-1 6, Blades 2 1-2 6, Price 1 0-0 2, Norman 0 4-4 4, Bekemeier 8 6-6 24, Mason 1 0-0 2.
OZARK (44) — Foley 2 3-4 7, Hampton 3 2-2 8, Sult 4 0-0 12, Rushing 3 0-0 7, Soloman 3 4-8 10.
Republic 12 12 8 14 - 46
Ozark 10 13 11 10 - 44
3-point goals - Sult 4, Bekemeier 2, Rushing, Chastain, Blades.
