Rankings mean nothing unless there is a match between two opponents where one wins and another loses. Comparing all of the statistics such as like opponents, win/loss record, and rosters doesn’t give the same idea of who’s better. But a head-to-head matchup, now that does. The Mansfield Lady Tigers were supposed to face the Mountainburg Lady Dragons on December 8th, 2023, but that game didn’t happen due to a conflict with the football State Playoffs. At that time, both teams were just getting their feet under them on the court. As the season progressed though, both the Lady Tigers and Lady Dragons developed some hype around their eventual matchup on Friday, January 19th. Mansfield held first place in the 2A-4 with an undefeated conference record and was ranked second in the state while Mountainburg also had dibs on the conference’s top spot with a 5-0 record and sat at 6th place in the state polls due to an early season loss. But was the overall buildup of this #1 versus #2 2A-4 showdown worth the wait? You bet your bottom dollar it was.
The game started with something you wouldn’t expect from two top-notch teams. Both Mountainburg and Mansfield’s jumpers missed the opening jump ball. Once the butterflies settled, Kaylee Ward tipped the second jump ball to her older sister, Kynslee Ward, and the Lady Tigers went to work. After a missed shot by Mansfield and a turnover by Mountainburg, the Lady Tigers got on the scoreboard first with a long range three-point shot by Kynslee Ward. The Lady Dragons quickly answered with a three-pointer of their own to set the game at 3-3 early in the first quarter. Not to be outdone, Kynslee Ward again drained a three-pointer which forced the Lady Dragons to take a timeout. The timeout didn’t cool Mansfield’s hot streak down though, as Harlie Fuller hit a three-pointer of her own to extend Mansfield’s lead. Mansfield kept the points rolling on through the net as they ran away with a 15-5 lead. But the Lady Tigers had happy feet, which led to multiple traveling calls. The turnovers allowed Mountainburg to cut into the Lady Tigers’ lead to end the first quarter with a 17-9 lead for Mansfield.
The second quarter started with an early foul by Mountainburg which sent Kaylee Ward to the free-throw line where she hit one of two shots. The Lady Dragons took a page out of Mansfield’s book as they drew a foul of their own and hit both shots. Both teams were uncharacteristically sloppy with missed shots, turnovers, and fouls which created a sort of stalemate in the second quarter. A Kynslee Ward to Harley Fuller floor pass broke a two-minute scoring drought for Mansfield as Fuller rolled in a smooth layup to give a 13-point lead to the Lady Tigers over Mountainburg. Alyson Edwards began to show her power at the boards late in the second quarter as she started to get buckets and draw fouls to gain five points in less than a minute. Mountainburg wouldn’t lay down though as the Lady Dragons closed the gap just before halftime with a few short shots and a two-point buzzer-beater to send the teams into halftime with a 29-19 score in Mansfield’s favor.
Mountainburg came out of the half on fire by hitting a three-pointer and drew the foul to get a quick four points. With the score gap now in single digits, Mansfield was in unfamiliar territory. Alyson Edwards was able to push up a pair of shots to give the Lady Tigers some breathing room, but Mountainburg smelled an upset brewing and kept the pressure on Mansfield by getting within three points of the Lady Tigers, 33-30. In close battles, it’s the warriors that step up to take control and Kynslee Ward took a huge step forward for Mansfield by hitting a much needed three-pointer to get the Lady Tigers back to a six-point lead. Heavy defensive pressure by Trinity Triska and Harley Fuller led to a Kaylee Ward short shot to give the Lady Tigers a 38-30 lead. Fuller then showed her offensive side with a big three-pointer to stretch the score back into a double-digit lead for Mansfield, but Mountainburg closed the door again with a three-pointer of their own. Harlie Fuller would have none of that though and rolled in a layup with two minutes left in the third quarter to set the score at 43-33. A three-point shot by Kaylee Ward pushed Mansfield even further ahead giving the feeling that the game was all but done. Mountainburg came right back with a pair of uncontested layups to cut Mansfield’s lead back down to nine points. Alyson Edwards again came through for Mansfield with a forceful board shot to close the third quarter with Mansfield leading Mountainburg 50-39.
With three quarters down and just one to go, this game was living up to the hype. It didn’t matter if it was sloppiness by both teams or just two great programs keeping each other in check, this game was definitely a small-town showstopper for the first three quarters. Someone had to win though, and Alyson Edwards was the one to put Mansfield’s name in the winner’s hat first. Edwards started off the fourth quarter by putting up a board bucket and drew a foul to boot. Trinity Triska’s defensive prowess picked up a few steals which allowed Mansfield to cash in on shots by Kaylee Ward and Alyson Edwards. Edwards continued to push up the Lady Tigers lead as she dominated the final quarter with powerful shots in the paint and drew fouls along the way as the Mansfield Lady Tigers took the win over Mountainburg with a 67-44 final score. Alyson Edwards led the team with 26 points in the game. Sisters Kynslee and Kaylee Ward combined for 33 points while Harlie Fuller closed out Mansfield’s scoring with 8 points. A big road win over the #6 team in the state solidified Mansfield’s name as a true state contender and kept the Lady Tigers with an undefeated 18-0 record.
