With multiple Tiger teams in the same conference, many started naming them the Charleston Tigers and the Mansfield “Red” Tigers to set them apart. It almost seemed like Mansfield was below Charleston by having a color put before their prized Tiger mascot. On Thursday, January 16th, the Mansfield Jr Lady Tigers showed that it was time for the “Red Tigers” to be replaced with “The Tigers” with a 51-39 victory over the Charleston “Gold” Tigers.
In most of their games, the Jr Lady Tigers would take the first quarter to study their opponents. This usually creates not only a close first half score but also a fingernail munch fest for fans. But this was Mansfield vs Charleston. Both teams knew they had to either get on top quick or ultimately lose. That is just what the Lady Tigers did as they pounced on Charleston with a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. As the battle ensued, both teams battled it out with some back and forth breakaway plays closing the score to a 22-16 Mansfield lead going into the half.
After halftime, both teams came out with a chip on their shoulder and the REAL game began. The Lady Tigers bought up real-estate at every corner of the basketball court. The perimeter, backboard, in the paint, it didn’t matter. If it was in bounds, Mansfield made sure they owned it. The third quarter ended 38-25 in the Lady Tigers’ favor.
As the fourth quarter began, Mansfield must have recalled their one-point loss at Charleston earlier in the season. The Lady Tigers would not allow the same to happen in this game as they surged ahead giving every player on the team an opportunity to touch the court in their 51-39 victory over their Tiger foes.
Skylynn Harris and Alyson Edwards led the Lady Tigers in scoring with 13 points each. Alyson scored mostly by battling on the backboards while Skylynn was able to strike from the perimeters. Harlie Fuller knocked down 11 points with her quick feet and got the fans to say “OHHH” multiple times with her ankle-breaking moves. Natalie Allison showed how dangerous she is anywhere on the court by scoring six points against the boards, from the perimeter, and driving in for a basket. Charleston held Kynslee Ward and Seven Sanderson to four points apiece, but Ward and Sanderson showed excellent teamwork by unselfishly getting the rock to their teammates for scores.
“If you missed the Jr High Lady Tigers game against Charleston, you missed a great one,” said Coach Joshua Bryan. “What an exciting win in front of a big crowd. We want to thank all the fans for coming out and supporting us. It was shared glory as multiple Lady Tigers scored in the double digits. This win moves us to 13-2 on the season and 6-1 in conference play. Also, we have a new leader in all-time steals for a single season. Eighth-grader Kynslee Ward earned her 84th steal of the season in our game against Greenland surpassing a shared title by Christa Clark and Dana Johnson with 83 steals each. Congratulations to Kynslee for her record-setting performance!”
The Jr Lady Tigers will be back at it on Monday, January 20th at Cedarville against the Lady Pirates with games starting at 4:30 p.m.
