‘Twas the week of Christmas break and all on the courts, the Lady Tigers were roaring with points of all sorts. The threes were hung with precise shots and care, in hopes that a victory would soon be there. The Mansfield Lady Tigers are no doubt a jolly group on the basketball court as they wear their red and white school colors that match Santa Clauses outfit. But make no mistake, they’re all Grinch for their opponents once the jump ball is tossed up at the center of the court. Instead stealing Christmas though, Mansfield stole the show on Monday, December 19th as they opened up the perfect gift with a 64-46 win over their southern rivals, the Acorn Lady Tigers.
The Lady Tigers showed they were going to make a statement from the get-go when Harlie Fuller sank a three-point shot from downtown to start the game off in the right direction. Kynslee Ward jumped into the mix next as she made a solo drive to the bucket for a layup. Alyson Edwards followed suit with aboard bucket of her own and just like that Mansfield was up 7-0. Acorn would hit a three pointer of their own to stop the route, but the Lady Tigers didn’t waver from their game plan and kept the heat turned up. Kynslee Ward kept pouring gas on the red-hot scoreboard as she hit back-to-back threes as well as a few slick layups to force Acorn to call a time out with 2:32 left in the opening quarter. Acorn began to put pressure on Kynsee Ward but forgot to “ward off” her younger sibling, Kaylee Ward. Kaylee dropped a few soft shots through the net to close out the first quarter with a 17-10 Mansfield lead.
Acorn had to shake up their game plan to slow down the Ward sisters, so they applied a full court defense in the second quarter. Although it was a successful tactic early, it opened up the opportunity for Mansfield to showcase their overall team depth. Natalie Allison and Harlie Fuller each knocked down a three-point shot to extend the Lady Tigers lead. Acorn would close the gap though, bringing the score to 24-18, but Mansfield continued to spread the ball out to different players to offset each moved Acorn made. Skylynn Harris rolled up a board bucket off of a Brooke Adams steal midway through the quarter to start up an 8-0 run by the Lady Tigers. The scoring run started with Harris, but it was Seven Sanderson’s powerhouse rebounding that stretched things out. Sanderson plowed through Acorn to not only get the ball back off the boards, but also put the ball back up for scores. Natalie Allison threw her hat in the rebound and put back ring with a hard-fought score before the buzzer sounded ending the half with Mansfield leading Acorn 32-23.
Mansfield has been known to be a second half team so far this season, but the Lady Tigers came out of halftime uncharacteristically slow. Acorn quickly hit four unanswered points on the Lady Tigers while Mansfield shot themselves in the foot with turnovers and a shot clock violation to start the second half. The rough start allowed Acorn to gain some ground on the scoreboard, but Kynslee Ward revved up Mansfield’s offensive engine with three pointers and it was off to the races form there. Kaylee Ward blocked an Acorn shot and Kynslee Ward took the loose ball down for a full court layup. Alyson Edwards switched from here normal battle position in the boxes to go outside the perimeter to sink a three. With Mansfield killing them from outside the arches, Acorn pulled their defense away from the basket. The move proved to be fatal though as it left Kaylee Ward, Seven Sanderson, and Natalie Allison open down low. The trio racked up a basket each on Acorn and brought down the house as the third quarter ended with Mansfield in command of a 47-33 lead.
With the Lady Tigers in their groove now, Acorn found it difficult to stop Mansfield’s momentum. Seven Sanderson continued to boost the Lady Tigers offensive moral by snatching rebounds and put backs for points. Then the passing kicked in. Alyson Edwards racked up eight consecutive points for Mansfield off of smooth passes by Natalie Allison and Trinity Triska. Acorn was able to pick up points here and there but couldn’t keep up with the Lady Tigers pace forcing them to call a time out. The Lady Tigers would again face Acorns full court pressure but countered it with some solid defense of their own. Frustration set in for Acorn which created fouls that sent Natalie Allison to the line for free throws as Mansfield continued to extend their lead. The game would then close out like it started with the Ward sisters gaining ownership of the game. Kaylee Ward stuffed an Acorn shot and stole the ball only to pass it to Kynslee Ward for a wide open three pointer. Kynslee would then drive the length of the court on a rebound and score a go-ahead layup to end the game with a 64-46 Lady Tigers victory.
The Lady Tigers have now beaten their southern rivals twice in the 2022 season, but this time was different then their first matchup. Mansfield played what may be their best game to date in the win as they led all four quarters against Acorn and showed their skills on both sides of the court. Kynslee Ward and Alyson Edwards both lead the team in points versus Acorn with 18 points apiece and were followed by Natalie Allison to racked up 10 points in the game. Kaylee Ward and Harlie Fuller teamed up for a combined 12 points in the game while backboard battalion of Seven Sanderson and Skylynn Harris combined for 6 points. The victory puts Mansfield with an 11-2 overall record with their only two losses being to larger schools. This bodes well for the Lady Tigers as they prepare for the Bill Frye Invitational over Christmas break. The Invitational will be hosted by Mansfield on Dec.28-Dec.30th and will consist of teams such as Waldron, Vian, Paris, Elkins, Mulberry, Two Rivers, Hackett, and of course the Lady Tigers themselves.
