The players that make up the Mansfield SR Lady Tigers team are good. This group of young ladies has proven how for years as they’ve added title after title to the Mansfield trophy case. So it has been a shock to the system for fans to see them a little off this season with a 10-7 record going into their matchup against the Magazine Rattlers on Friday, January 7th which was uncharacteristic of the squad. Apparently, they were playing possum this whole time as they throttled the Lady Rattlers 69-29 for a Homecoming victory.
Right from the tip-off, the Lady Tigers showed Magazine that they were there to dominate. Mansfield jumped out early on the Lady Rattlers with some sweet swish music from three-point range from Harlie Fuller, Sadie Roberts, and Skylynn Harris. The Lady Tigers defense was top-notch also as Kynslee Ward struck quicker than a snake to steal the ball and bring it back for a quick basket. All-Star board basher Alyson Edwards didn’t allow a ball to bounce off of the backboard without her snatching it and putting it back up. Although the Lady Tigers lead 17-8 at the end of the first quarter, the score was still too close for comfort.
The second quarter was all Mansfield. The Lady Tigers tattooed their name on every stat in the book as they looked like a 17-0 team, not a 10-7 team. Seven Sanderson made her presence known on the court by outrebounding Magazines entire team in the quarter while also racking up 9 points. With Magazine now focusing their attention on Sanderson, they left Sadie Roberts and Harlie Fuller wide open. An open Roberts and Fuller means only one thing, draining three-point shots and that is exactly what they did. The Lady Tigers were dominating at the boards and perimeters which began to frustrate Magazine causing them to foul. As the fouls accumulated, free throw opportunities became available. With the price being free, Natalie Allison, Seven Sanderson, and Alyson Edwards cashed in hitting 5 of their combined 6 shots. Mansfield’s defensive dominance held Magazine to 10 points in the second quarter while the Lady Tigers offense racked up 23 points as Mansfield headed into halftime with a whopping 40-18 lead.
The Lady Tigers began rotating in their player right from the get-go in the second half. For some teams, this would mean that their opponents would have a chance for a comeback. Not for this ten-player Mansfield squad though. Players like Brooke Adams, Raine Hecox, and Sarah Fisher proved that Mansfield is capable of having ten starters at any given moment as they smothered the Lady Rattlers offense like gravy on top of biscuits. Skylynn Harris & Harlie Fuller kept the Lady Tigers offense hot with more three-point shots while Sadie Roberts was able to close the third quarter with a breakaway layup to give Mansfield a commanding 56-23 heads up on Magazine.
Mansfield kept their rotations fresh in the fourth quarter giving every player a fair shake and that shake continued to rattle Magazine. It seemed as if Mansfield’s luck number for the night was three as Sadie Roberts knocked down two perimeter shots and Sarah Fisher got into the scoring mix also with a three-point shot of her own. Seven Sanderson continued to be a backboard beast for the Lady Tigers pounding out six points off of rebounds. Natalie Allison caught an open pass down the court for a layup and decided to sink a couple of free throws while she was at it. Why? Because she could. The game was over before it even started as Mansfield rolled on to end the game with a 69-29 win.
This is the Lady Tigers did exactly what everyone knew they were capable of. Although they played a little bit of possum earlier in the season, Mansfield sent a message to their conference opponents with their win over Magazine. The message was a simple two-word letter that reads “We’re Back”. Mansfield will face off against another fierce conference reptile on Tuesday, January 11th as they travel into the Mountainburg Lady Dragons den.
