The Mansfield JR Lady Tigers have been on a roll since their 2021 season started. Though a few teams have come close to dethroning the Lady Tigers, no one has been able to give Mansfield an L on their schedule yet. On Tuesday, December 16ththe Cossatot River Lady Eagles became just another victim of the Lady Tigers as Mansfield clipped the 3A Lady Eagles 35-23 to remain undefeated.
It didn’t take long for the Lady Tigers to show Cossatot up on their home court. Playing in an ice-cold stadium, the Lady Tigers turned up the thermostat with a few three-point shots from Shelbie Fuller and Presley Curry. Cossatot quickly adjusted their defense to cover the pair of sharp shooters cutting down on Mansfield’s perimeter points. The Lady Eagles change up helped, not enough as the Lady Tigers ended the first quarter with a 13-3 lead.
Mansfield saw the same spread defense as they entered the second quarter and made an adjustment themselves. With Cossatot opening up their defense they left the paint wide open for Ambria Whitaker and Kylee Ward to pluck out points on the Lady Eagles. Defensively, the Lady Tigers were thieves and backboard bullies. Ward and Whittaker took defensive rebounds to the next level while stacking up blocked shots in the stat book. Fuller, Curry, Trinity Triska were all smooth as a criminal at times but had no problem getting down and dirty to get turnovers. This dominance on both sides of the ball gave the Lady Tigers a commanding 25-9 lead going into halftime.
Going into the third quarter, the Lady Tigers were short a key player as Whittaker could not make the second half. This was where Mansfield proved that they are more than just a few good players, they’re a good team. Laney “Sugar” Woods stepped up to the plate and didn’t disappoint. Woods defense was tighter than a pair of vice grips on the Cossatot players as the Lady Tigers pressed on with their domination of the game. Mansfield only allowed four points in the third quarter and cruised to a 35-23 victory to remain undefeated. Shelbie Fuller led the team in points racking up 11 points, three of which were 3-point shots. Kaylee Ward made her mark with 8 points in the game followed by Ambria Whittaker and Presley Curry who both lit up the score board with 6 points each. Trinity Triska and Kalie Lowery rounded out the scoring with two points each.
Mansfield’s celebration will be short lived though as the Lady Tigers will be right back at work as they host the Lavaca Lady Golden Arrows on Friday, December 17th. Lavaca is one of the premiere programs in the 2A and are always a gritty opponent for the Lady Tigers. But all that glitters isn’t gold and the Lady Tigers will be up for the challenge.
