The Lady Tigers continued their Bill Frye Invitation on Tuesday, December 29th against the Shiloh Christian Lady Saints. After a narrow victory over Mulberry the night before, Mansfield had little time to rest before taking on a powerhouse Saints squad. The Lady Tigers saw Shiloh and unlike other programs, didn’t worry. Rather the Lady Tigers stared down the Saints lineup for four quarters and didn’t flinch in a 50-43 loss.

Shiloh started off with a fast jump ball victory, but that was the last thing that was a sure win for the Lady Saints as Mansfield tattooed themselves on Shiloh for the first quarter. The Lady Tigers offense began smoothly transitioning passes into points as Seven Sanderson scored Mansfield’s first points of the game. Ally Edwards struck the boards next for the Lady Tigers while their defense stuck a pitchfork in the Lady Saints high-powered scoring game. Both teams played ping pong with the basketball for the rest of the first quarter with Shiloh narrowly holding a two-point 10-8 lead over the Lady Tigers.

Mansfield made sure to keep the heat on Shiloh’s halos going into the second quarter. Kynslee Ward played like a woman possessed doing everything from stealing the ball to rebounding like a machine. Natalie Allyson and Ally Edwards were the scoreboard show stoppers in the second quarter as both worked the paint like pros. Shiloh slowly crept to a seven-point lead as time in the second quarter was running out. It looked like the Saints were going to run time out and go into the half but at the buzzer, Shiloh drilled a three-point shot sending the teams into halftime with Mansfield down 25-15.

With a thriller first half in their pockets, the Lady Tigers entered the 3rd quarter with their claws out. Sadie Roberts hooked up a layup to score first on the Saints but didn’t stop there. Roberts rolled back down the court, snagged a defensive rebound, then after a few Mansfield passes sank a big time three-pointer. Shiloh was still able to score here and there, but the Lady Tigers made sure to hand them their calling card by playing aggressive defense. Kynslee Ward was possibly the shortest player on the court, but rebounded like a giant and was on top of the grab-and-go game. At the end of the 3rd quarter, Mansfield had the Saints falling fast but were still down 36-34.

There was no fat lady singing anywhere in the arena going into the 4th quarter. Shiloh took to the court determined, but maybe too determined as they helped Mansfield out by quickly gaining their seventh team foul along with having a starter foul out. The Lady Tigers could feel the winds changing and pounced on the opportunity. Kynslee Ward blocked a Saints shot and took it down court then drilled a pass to Sadie Roberts who downed a 3 point shot. Alyson Edwards took one for the team by getting mowed over for a charge call giving the Lady Tigers the ball back down by three with a 43-40 score. Skylnn Harris found a wide-open Sadie Roberts who again dropped a three-point shot tying the game at 43-43 with 3:06 left in the game. Unfortunately, the Saints went on a four-point run to build back their lead. As time ticked away, the Lady Tigers were forced to foul, sending Shiloh to the free-throw line. When the dust settled in this classic, Mansfield fell short with a final score of 50-43.

Alyson Edwards was the Lady Tigers leading scoring in the game with 12 hard-fought points in the game. Sadie Roberts had the hot hands on the night downing three three-point shots and a layup to finish with 11 points. Natalie Allyson hit solid shots for 7 points while Kynslee Ward, Skylynn Harris, and Seven Sanderson rounded out the Lady Tigers scoring with 4 points each. The narrow loss doesn’t end the Lady Tigers run in the Bill Frye Invitational sponsored by Today’s Bank though as Mansfield will take on the Vian Lady Wolverines on Wednesday at 2:45pm.

The Senior Mansfield Lady Tigers took their first round of the Bill Frye Classic sponsored by Today’s Bank as if they were the third Tiger in line for Noah’s Ark when they tipped off against the Mulberry Yellow Jackets on Tuesday, December 28th. With an already slim roster of ten players, the Lady Tigers were short an additional three players for their matchup against the Yellow Jackets. Mulberry may have had more numbers on the bench, but at the end of the game the Lady Tigers had more numbers on the scoreboard as Mansfield scratched out a 40-35 victory.

The Lady Tigers jumped to an early lead with Sadie Roberts winning the jump ball followed by a quick Alyson Edwards layup. Mulberry quickly stole the momentum and the lead when the Yellow Jackets sunk a big three-point shot.  While the floor was heating up with aggression, the rims remained cold as the first quarter ended with Mansfield hanging onto a narrow 14-8 lead.

Someone must’ve hit rewind as the second quarter commenced as Mansfield started off hot with Skylynn Harris sweeping the ball from the Yellow Jackets followed and after a few passes, Harris drained a three-pointer. Kynslee Ward was a wild child defensively in the second quarter by blocking shots, stealing the ball, and making Mullberry jam out of the Yellow Jackets offense. It was the Lady Tigers defense that kept them in the game as exhaustion slowly crept down on them. The Lady Tigers kept their offense going just enough to go into halftime with a 23-13.

It was very apparent that Mansfield was feeling rough coming out of halftime. The Lady Tigers started the second half off with back-to-back turnovers, three missed shots, and three fouls while Mulberry began to heat up offensively. Alyson Edwards broke the scoring woes with a free throw which lit a slight flame under the Lady Tigers tails. Natalie Allison snagged a steal and score, Harlie Fuller slipped by the Yellow Jackets for a steal, Seven Sanderson stuffed a Yellow Jacket layup, and the Mansfield defense forced a backcourt on Mulberry. All was going well with the Lady Tigers until disaster struck. Kynslee Ward stole the ball and flew down the court and lost control of a pass. As always, Ward fought tooth and nail for the ball all the way to the floor when she was landed on by a Mulberry player. Mansfield hung on to a 34-25 lead as the third quarter came to a close.

The Lady Tigers free fall didn’t stop as Mansfield fouled on their first possession of the fourth quarter giving them their 7th team foul. Shortly after, Sadie Roberts caught her fifth foul, cutting the Lady Tigers’ already small roster to just five players for the rest of the game. With their backs against the wall, Mansfield bowed up. The game was solely on the shoulders of Skylynn Harris, Natalie Allison, Alyson Edwards, Harlee Fuller, and Seven Sanderson. The Fantastic Five knew they had to get gritty and boy did they do it. The Lady Tigers defense continued the heavy pressure on the Yellow Jackets forcing Mulberry to not have any clear shots. Both teams nickel and dimed each other until the final minute where Natalie Allyson stretched the Lady Tigers lead to three points. As time closed out, Mulberry had to foul, sending the Lady Tigers to the free-throw line. Mansfield shooters dropped their shots through the net to win the game 40-35.

Alyson Edwards led the team in scoring with 16 points against Mulberry with Skylnn Harris racking up 13 points in the game. Sadie Roberts and Natalie Allyson both put up 4 points apiece while Kynslee Ward swished two free throws to round out the Lady Tigers scoring with 2 points. With the tough victory in the bag, the Lady Tigers will advance to the winners bracket in the Bill Frye Invitational where they will face Shiloh at 5:15pm on Friday, December 29th. One thing is for sure, so long as the Lady Tigers have even a single player left suited up, they’ll be playing their hearts out to win it all. 

Heading into Christmas break the Bulldogs veered off course with back-to-back losses against Cedarville and Lavaca. This brought the Dogs recorded to 10-6 and 2-1 in conference play. Looking to get back on course, the Dogs would face the Vian Wolverines in the first round of the Bill Frye invitational sponsored by Today’s Bank.

The Dogs started off the game playing very sloppy. Coach Atchley substituted in two whole groups before allowing his starters to come back into the game. Thankfully, the Wolverines were sluggish too and the two teams only combined for 11 points in the 1^st quarter. After getting the starters back onto the court the Dogs began to full-court press and create turnovers allowing Trenton Hunt to convert an and-one opportunity, and Ethan Mayberry to get another layup to fall to end the 1^st quarter with the Dogs up 6-5.

The offensive struggles continued in the 2^nd quarter for the Dogs as they only scored 3 points. Upset again, Coach Atchley substituted in a whole new 5, but that group was not getting it done either. Vian was getting every offensive rebound and the Dogs could not buy a shot. The starters eventually got back in the game, and Hunt added a layup before the half to make the score 9-14 advantage Wolverines.

Coach Atchley must have given his squad a stern talking to during the break because after halftime it was all Dogs. The Dogs came out in a full-court press that was giving the Wolverines a fit. They could not get the ball past halfcourt and allowed the Dogs to go on a 9-0 run to put the Dogs up with a score of 18-14. “Fish” McConnell and Hunt did all the scoring during the run as McConnell converted two put-back layups and Hunt added an and-one and a floater. After a bucket by Vian, McConnell would bury a 3-pointer to put the Dogs up by 5. To end the quarter, the Dogs got easy baskets in transition from steals in their press defense. Camdon Holcomb, Chris Lopez, and Hunt were each able to add a layup to make the score 27-19 Dogs advantage. The duo of Hunt and McConnell brought the Dogs back into the lead as they combined for 14 points in the 3^rd quarter.

To start the 4^th quarter, Drew Owens knocked down a 3-point basket and allowed the Dogs to resume their pressure. Vian was still having problems getting the ball down the court as the Dogs were forcing turnovers left and right. After a layup by Hunt, the Dogs were up 34-23, but the Wolverines were not ready to give up yet. They went on a 6-0 run to get them within 5 with a score of 34-29. The Dogs would answer though as they would go on a 10-0 run to put the game away. The run included two-point baskets from Hunt, Mayberry, Holcomb, and McConnell. With Vian forced to foul, Lidge Stinson would make six free throws in a row to make the final score 50-34 Bulldogs victory.

Hunt led all scorers with 21 points and 5 rebounds. “Fish” McConnell added 10 points and Stinson had 6.

The Bulldogs will travel back to Tiger Stadium on Wednesday, December 28 to play the Pocola Indians at 4:00pm in the second round of the Bill Frye Invitational.