Pictured is Alyson Edwards
The Mansfield Jr Lady Tigers have been the team to beat all season. With talent oozing from all corners of the team, the Lady Tigers ran rampant over their opponents leaving all challengers hung up in the nets. On Friday, February 5, the Lady Tigers headed north to Mountainburg to take on the Dragons in their own fiery cave. The outcome was another W in the record books for Mansfield giving them an undefeated conference season and the #1 Seed for the District Tournament.
With the Jr Lady Tigers clawing at the floor and the Lady Dragons spitting fire, it was time for tip-off. Although Mountainburg couldn’t go toe to toe with the Lady Tigers, they did put some worry in the Tiger Faithful sitting in the stands as they held Mansfield to an 8-3 score in the first quarter. The Lady Dragons were able to frustrate Mansfield which wound up causing multiple missed shots and missed rebounds by the Lady Tigers. Mansfield slowly built their lead but wasn’t able to pull away from the Lady Dragons like they have been used to doing all season against opponents. The Lady Tigers seemed to be caught stale by the tail as they went into halftime with a 27-3 lead.
Mansfield came out of the half with a chip on their shoulder and went to work on the Lady Dragons. The Lady Tigers played a few minutes with their starters then swapped out for second string to start mining away at Mountainburg. For some programs, this would be a major flaw with so much of the game left to play. Not for Mansfield though. Mansfield’s fresh bodies attacked the Lady Dragons from all sides flipping the script on them as it was now Mountainburg who was getting frustrated and making mental mistakes. The Lady Tigers defense stuck to Mountainburg like gum on the bottom of a shoe as they closed out the third quarter with a 33-10 lead. Mansfield was fireproof as their offense and defense began to click leaving the Lady Dragons blue as Mansfield endeavored to persevere and charged to a 47-16 victory.
Kynslee Ward and Alyson Edwards tied with 9 points each for the Lady Tigers followed by another double-up of Harlie and Shelbie Fuller with 8 points apiece. Kaylie Lowery landed with 6 points while Presley Curry jumped for joy with 3. And with 2 points each was Kaylee Ward and Cole Smith. The season finale win brings the Jr Lady Tigers to a 13-1 overall record and an undefeated 5-0 conference record. It also gives the Jr Lady Tigers the 2A-4 Conference Championship which is their second consecutive conference title after winning the 3A-4 title last season.
For some of the freshmen on the team, this makes their fifth consecutive championship dating all the way back to their little league days. Mansfield has one more goal left to complete for the season and that is to win the District Tournament. The Lady Tigers hold the #1 Seed in the Tournament and will host the winner of the JC Westside vs Magazine game on Thursday, February 11 at 6:00 pm in The Jungle.
