The Mansfield Lady Tigers and Lavaca Lady Golden Arrows are no strangers to each other in the 2A-4. Whether it’s volleyball, softball, or basketball fans are sure to witness an edge-of-the-seat showdown. Most of the postseason matchups in said sports between the programs are for Championship gold. This time however, Mansfield and Lavaca would face off in the Semifinals of the 2A-4 District Basketball Tournament not for the Championship itself, but for just a shot at playing for it.
The game started off exactly how everyone expected it to. Physical. The Lady Tigers took a quick 4-0 lead with a pair of free throws and a board bucket. Lavaca shot right back though with a long range three-point shot to bring the game to a 4-3 score. Alyson Edwards powered through the Lady Golden Arrows for a layup, but Lavaca again drained a three to tie the game. The teams didn’t let up and the ties kept coming. The scoreboard started at 0-0 then went to 6-6, 8-8, and then Lavaca scored their first lead of the game setting the score at 10-8 at 1:09 left in the opening quarter. Kaylee Ward would tie the game again at 10-10 with a board bucket which gave Mansfield just enough push to get another score with seconds left to take the lead. The quarter was over, or was it? Kynslee Ward ended up with the ball in the final seconds and proceeded to make a miracle buzzer shot for three points to officially end the first quarter with a 15-10 score in Mansfield’s favor.
Alyson Edwards started the second quarter the way the Lady Tigers ended the first quarter with a three-point basket. Kaylee Ward followed suit with a smooth jump shot before Lavaca broke Mansfield’s run with a free throw. Some may call it sloppy basketball when turnovers happen, but both teams were just so good that making steals just came naturally. Kaylee Ward stole the ball from a Lavaca player and gave an assist to Natalie Allison for a layup. Lavaca would come up with a steal of their own which lead to another Lady Golden Arrow three-pointer. The Lady Golden Arrows’ defense began to step up heavily as they held Mansfield from scoring any points for the final three minutes of the quarter as the half ended with Mansfield narrowly leading Lavaca 22-18.
There was only one half of play left and only one team could advance to play for the District Championship. Natalie Allison drained a three-pointer to jump-start the third quarter, so it would be Mansfield, right? Nope, Lavaca struck right back with a three-point shot of their own. The Lady Golden Arrows then went on a five-point run to gain a 27-26 lead on Mansfield. Lavaca would continue to manage their lead well with solid defense and smooth steals that led to points on the board. Mansfield finally went ahead of the Lady Golden Arrows with a Natalie Allison layup which gave the Lady Tigers a slim 33-32 lead. The battle wouldn’t end there though as the physicality of both teams began to take its toll with fouls mounting up on both benches. With the score sitting at 36-35 for the Lady Tigers, Kynslee Ward pulled a….well, Kynslee Ward….and screamed down court to beat the clock and buzzer with a layup to extend Mansfield’s lead to 38-35.
Mansfield jumped into the fourth and final quarter capitalizing on the physicality of the game. Fouls by the Lady Golden Arrows sent Seven Sanderson and Alyson Edwards to the free-throw line as the duo netted three of their four shots forcing Lavaca to call a time-out at the 5:52 mark. The short break gave the Lady Tigers just enough breath to have Alyson Edwards, Kynslee Ward, and Seven Sanderson combine for a seven-point run. Lavaca stopped the roll by the Lady Tigers with a free throw, but Mansfield would not be denied their Championship opportunity. The Lady Tigers went to sisters Kynslee and Kaylee Ward to close out the scoring and push ahead 53-40 with 0:22 seconds left in the game. The Lady Golden Arrows would still fight to the very last second, but Mansfield held strong to finish the game with a 53-43 victory.
The Lady Tigers are officially District Championship bound and will play on Friday, February 17th at 7:00pm. Their opponent is none other than the Hector Lady Wildcats. The two programs split wins against each other during the regular season with Hector coming out ahead in the District Seeding as the Number1 seed by way of points after they walloped Mansfield 65-46 in January. Although the two share the Conference Championship title, only one can win District Champion. That means that there will be no flukes nor a shocking cinderella story in the Championship, but rather just one team left standing as the best Lady’s basketball program in the 2A-4.
Even though the Lavaca Lady Golden Arrows will not play for the District Championship, they will still come out with an automatic spot in the 2A Regional Tournament. Lavaca will play the Western Yell County Lady Wolverines on Friday, February 17th at 4:00pm in the District Tournaments’ third-place game. The winner will be the 3Seed in the Regional Tournament while the loser of the third-place game will enter Regionals as the 4Seed.
