The Lady Tigers continued their Bill Frye Invitation on Tuesday, December 29th against the Shiloh Christian Lady Saints. After a narrow victory over Mulberry the night before, Mansfield had little time to rest before taking on a powerhouse Saints squad. The Lady Tigers saw Shiloh and unlike other programs, didn’t worry. Rather the Lady Tigers stared down the Saints lineup for four quarters and didn’t flinch in a 50-43 loss.
Shiloh started off with a fast jump ball victory, but that was the last thing that was a sure win for the Lady Saints as Mansfield tattooed themselves on Shiloh for the first quarter. The Lady Tigers offense began smoothly transitioning passes into points as Seven Sanderson scored Mansfield’s first points of the game. Ally Edwards struck the boards next for the Lady Tigers while their defense stuck a pitchfork in the Lady Saints high-powered scoring game. Both teams played ping pong with the basketball for the rest of the first quarter with Shiloh narrowly holding a two-point 10-8 lead over the Lady Tigers.
Mansfield made sure to keep the heat on Shiloh’s halos going into the second quarter. Kynslee Ward played like a woman possessed doing everything from stealing the ball to rebounding like a machine. Natalie Allyson and Ally Edwards were the scoreboard show stoppers in the second quarter as both worked the paint like pros. Shiloh slowly crept to a seven-point lead as time in the second quarter was running out. It looked like the Saints were going to run time out and go into the half but at the buzzer, Shiloh drilled a three-point shot sending the teams into halftime with Mansfield down 25-15.
With a thriller first half in their pockets, the Lady Tigers entered the 3rd quarter with their claws out. Sadie Roberts hooked up a layup to score first on the Saints but didn’t stop there. Roberts rolled back down the court, snagged a defensive rebound, then after a few Mansfield passes sank a big time three-pointer. Shiloh was still able to score here and there, but the Lady Tigers made sure to hand them their calling card by playing aggressive defense. Kynslee Ward was possibly the shortest player on the court, but rebounded like a giant and was on top of the grab-and-go game. At the end of the 3rd quarter, Mansfield had the Saints falling fast but were still down 36-34.
There was no fat lady singing anywhere in the arena going into the 4th quarter. Shiloh took to the court determined, but maybe too determined as they helped Mansfield out by quickly gaining their seventh team foul along with having a starter foul out. The Lady Tigers could feel the winds changing and pounced on the opportunity. Kynslee Ward blocked a Saints shot and took it down court then drilled a pass to Sadie Roberts who downed a 3 point shot. Alyson Edwards took one for the team by getting mowed over for a charge call giving the Lady Tigers the ball back down by three with a 43-40 score. Skylnn Harris found a wide-open Sadie Roberts who again dropped a three-point shot tying the game at 43-43 with 3:06 left in the game. Unfortunately, the Saints went on a four-point run to build back their lead. As time ticked away, the Lady Tigers were forced to foul, sending Shiloh to the free-throw line. When the dust settled in this classic, Mansfield fell short with a final score of 50-43.
Alyson Edwards was the Lady Tigers leading scoring in the game with 12 hard-fought points in the game. Sadie Roberts had the hot hands on the night downing three three-point shots and a layup to finish with 11 points. Natalie Allyson hit solid shots for 7 points while Kynslee Ward, Skylynn Harris, and Seven Sanderson rounded out the Lady Tigers scoring with 4 points each. The narrow loss doesn’t end the Lady Tigers run in the Bill Frye Invitational sponsored by Today’s Bank though as Mansfield will take on the Vian Lady Wolverines on Wednesday at 2:45pm.
