After losing multiple All-State and All-Conference players to graduation in early 2024, the Mansfield Lady Tigers knew they would face an uphill battle to maintain their dominant reputation. The pressure doubled when Mansfield moved up from 2A competition to 3A for the 2024-25 season. But head coach, Ethan Bowman, knows what it takes to win at any level and has coached the Lady Tigers through the ups and downs of the treacherous 3A schedule as Mansfield held a 2-1 record going into their January 4th matchup with conference foe Cedarville. The Lady Tigers and Lady Pirates put on quite a show for the fans, but it was Mansfield who sailed away with the 46-38 win to bump up their conference record to 4-1.
The Lady Tigers jumped on Cedarville early with junior Kaylee Ward putting up a pair of free throws and then following that up with a long-range three. The 3A opponents swapped turnovers and good defense for the most part of the opening quarter, but it was Mansfield who pulled away with a 10-0 lead midway through the first quarter. Cedarville was able to push out a post shot to get on the board with 0:24 left in the opening quarter, but it was Shelbie Fuller who sank a free throw for the final points as the first quarter closed with an 11-4 Lady Tiger lead. Cedarville began the second quarter with a pair of free shots after being fouled and made the best of the opportunity by sinking both shots. Turnovers, fouls, and missed shots by Mansfield kept the Lady Pirates’ flags flying, but capitalizing on the Lady Tigers’ mistakes was easier said than done by the Lady Pirates as the score stood 11-6 with 4:51 left in the second quarter. Kaylee Ward broke the streak though with a put-back shot at the three-minute mark, but Cedarville went right back to their end of the court and made a put-back of their own. Shelbie Fuller again came to the rescue by hitting a free throw to extend the Lady Tigers’ lead. Cedarville saw the Lady Tigers one point and raised them with a three-pointer to close the gap to a two-point lead for Mansfield. A total of three points was all Mansfield could muster up in the second quarter though as the Lady Tigers went into halftime with a narrow 14-12 lead on Cedarville.
Trinity Triska came out on fire for the Lady Tigers by draining a three-pointer from downtown to send Mansfield into a 17-12 lead, but Cedarville’s cannons were lit and ready to fire at will. The Lady Pirates sank a three and then followed that up with a pair of board buckets to take a 19-17 lead over Mansfield. Kaylee Ward brought the Lady Tigers back to tie the game at 19-19, but fouls by Mansfield allowed Cedarville to regain the lead to a 22-19 score. Ward again put up a two-point board bucket before Coach Bowman called a timeout to strategize with the Lady Tigers on how to get the lead back. Trinity Triska is how as she stole the ball from Cedarville and sank a three-pointer to boot. The Lady Pirates hit a layup shortly after, but Kaylee Ward put in two free throws to allow the Lady Tigers to regain the lead with a 26-25 score. Triska and Ward continued their momentum swing for Mansfield with a Triska assist for a Ward board bucket to push the scoreboard to 28-25 in the Lady Tigers’ favor. Presley Curry joined the momentum movement by sinking a three-pointer which forced Cedarville to call a timeout with 1:03 left in the third quarter. Like clockwork, Shelbie Fuller closed out the scoring for Mansfield with a free throw as Mansfield entered the final quarter with a 33-25 lead over Cedarville.
Mansfield started the fourth quarter with a breakaway by Abby Smith for a smooth layup to extend the lead to ten points. Cedarville fired right back to set the score at 35-27 with 6:02 left in the game, but the next few minutes were a sloppy mess of errors by both teams. Cedarville broke the sloppy trend by putting up a bucket with 3:54 on the clock, but fouled Kaylee Ward who went one for two from the line to give the Lady Tigers a 36-30 advantage. Ward again put points up with a layup forcing Cedarville to take another timeout at the 3:11 mark. Coming out of the timeout, Trinity Triska stole the ball from the Lady Pirates and fed it to Abby Smith for a flawless layup. Kaylee Ward extended the Lady Tigers lead to 42-31 by powering to the basket for two points, but a Cedarville score followed by a Mansfield turnover that led to a Lady Pirates three-pointer narrowed Mansfield’s lead to 42-36 with less than a minute to play. Mansfield was too much for Cedarville in the end though as Kaylee Ward dropped two more free throws to give the Lady Tigers a 46-38 victory.
