One down, many more to go. The Mansfield Jr High Tigers wrapped up the past weekend by finishing play in the Earl White Classic. The Tigers went toe to toe with the Hackett Hornets for 3rd Place successfully laying down the law and taking the win while the Lady Tigers pounded the boards in the championship round against the Trinity Lady Buffaloes falling short 39-32 earning them Runner-Up.
Tyler Turnipseed led the Jr Tigers with 10 points, Drew Elmore and Austin Quinalty brought in four points each, Peyton Martin made three, and Braxton Byers netted two. “I’m happy to go into the break with a win over Hackett,” expressed Coach Keith Stovall. “The best part of the game came from us being behind the entire time but through determination, we were able to pull out the win in the end. We did a good job on the board.”
“Looking down the road, our size is going to give some teams trouble if we will take advantage of it. We have to get more consistent and play complete games. We only lost to the tournament champs, Lavaca, by six points. We also need to be more consistent in scoring. We can’t have players score in double figures in one game and come up with zero in the next. Rebounding and second-chance scoring opportunities will need to be a huge part of our success.”
“We will be tough inside on both offense and defense. We have to cut out the unforced turnovers and the dumb fouls. We also have to do a much better job of defending the perimeter. In the end, those three things cost us against Booneville and Lavaca in the tournament.”
The Jr Lady Tigers and the Lady Buffaloes evenly kept pace with one another the entire game. It was definitely a run for your money kind of match. Mansfield finished with 26 rebounds and 13 steals. Kynslee Ward led with 13 points and Alyson Edwards followed with six. Harlie Fuller brought in five, Skylynn Harris made four, Serenity Brunson grabbed three, and Natalie Allison brought in one.
The Jr High Tigers will rest up during Thanksgiving Break and then get back to work when they host the Magazine Rattlers on December 2 at 4 p.m.
