Pictured is Eden Mounts
The Mansfield Jr Lady Tigers high jacked a bus and ran off to Lavaca on Wednesday, February 5 to get some extra practice in before their final conference game until the District Tournament. The scrimmage gave the JV squad some great floor time and experience against a formidable foe in the Lavaca Lady Golden Arrows. Scrimmage or not, Lady Tigers basketball is Lady Tigers basketball and losing is unacceptable in their eyes. Due to that mentality, the JV squad warped the Golden Arrows with a 23-20 victory.
One would expect some rust and inconstancy from a JV squad, but that was not the case in the scrimmage. The Junior JV Lady Tigers perfected in your face defense. There were no easy buckets for Lavaca with Mansfield smothering their players from one end of the court to the other. Offensively, the girls showed great individual and team skills with some sweet passing and ankle-breaking dribbling. Scoring wasn’t exactly the JVs strong point, but they were able to rack up just enough to do what they traveled to Lavaca to do….WIN.
Mansfield girls’ coach, Joshua Bryan said “Like with our senior high, having depth on your team proves that when you’re missing out on key positions, someone can step into that role and produce. Getting another game in before districts was critical for us to work on our depth. The Lady Tigers did well for the most part. We still got a little frustrated too easily at the start but began to work better the longer the game went on. Seeing the open girl went better towards the end of the game. Like I told Lavacas Coach Wyles, if the JV game helped one girl get better, it’s worth the drive every time.”
Seven Sanderson led the team with seven points in the game and tacked on four rebounds and two steals to boot. Raine Hecox was like a cat burglar snatching five steals in the game. Eden Mounts was hot on the heels of the Lady Arrows grabbing four steals. Lita Hecox earned “Queen of the Mountain” status as she led the Lady Tigers with five rebounds off of the backboards. Brooklyn Adams continued to show Tiger fans she can do it all as she rolled up five points and three rebounds. Serenity Brunson and Cassidy Carlton combined for five rebounds and created havoc on Lavacas offense all game.
The starting five did get some time in the game off and on to keep them fresh. Alyson Edwards sank six points while Skylynn Harris, Natalie Allison, Harlie Fuller, and Kynslee Ward combined for five points. The starting crew also totaled four rebounds and four steals in the battle. With a good scrimmage under their belt, the Jr Lady Tigers are warmed up and ready for what could be the most important game of their season as they host West Fork on Friday, February 7 at 4 p.m. A victory puts the Jr Lady Tigers in first place going into District Tournament play.
