The Mansfield Lady Tigers have made it a point to be one of the top teams in the state over the past few years. Moving up from the 2A last season to 3A this year hasn’t seemed to phase the Lady Tigers either as Mansfield sat as the second-ranked team in the 3A-4 before their game on Tuesday, February 4th. While Mansfield doesn’t have the numbers on their roster to match most of their 3A opponents packed, they have shown that they could hang with the top dogs in the 3A. But the team that lingered in front of the Lady Tigers at the number one spot in the 3A-4 was the Lamar Lady Warriors. Lamar sits atop the 3A-4, and the Lady Warriors are a Top3 team in most of the state polls. So, could a Lady Tigers team new to the 3A go toe to toe with an annual 3A powerhouse like Lamar? The only thing left to do was play the game, so, number one versus number two….game on!
Mansfield’s Kaylee Ward won the jump ball, but it was Lamar who turned on the scoreboard lights first as the Lady Warriors swished a long-range three-pointer to start the game. Ward wasn’t going to let her team be shown up, though, as she battled for a hard-fought board bucket to put the Lady Tigers on the scoreboard. Senior, Trinity Triska, dished a sweet assist to Kaylee Ward for another bucket to give the Lady Tigers the lead. With a 4-3 score and plenty of physicality to spread around, both teams showcased why they were sitting at first and second place in the 3A-4. An epic defensive battle ensued as steals, fouls, and tipped shots stole the show down to the 4:13 mark of the opening quarter. Lamar was able to get a big layup off of an inbound, but senior Lady Tiger, Shelbie Fuller, kicked right back with a laser-guided three-point shot to tie that game at 7-7 with 3:00 left on the clock. The Lady Warriors found their groove though and rattled off four fast points and capped things off with an added buzzer-beating three-pointer to end the first quarter ahead of Mansfield 14-7 on the scoreboard.
The second quarter started rough as bodies hit the floor more often than not, but rough and tumble basketball isn’t anything new to the Lady Tigers. Kaylee Ward was fouled on the way up for a layup, giving her a plus-one on the free throw attempt. Now only down by four points, Mansfield put the pressure on Lamars fast paced offense. The pressure led to only a single free throw point for the Lady Warriors in two trips downcourt, setting the score at a narrow 15-10 lead by Lamar. Miley Clopton hit a two-point shot to close the gap by a little more, but the momentum shifted quickly back to Lamar with the Lady Warrior’s three-point shot. Clopton again put in a board bucket, forcing Lamar to call a time-out with an 18-14 score and 4:53 left in the half. Lamar came out of the timeout and went on a 6-0 run against Mansfield’s defense before Abby Smith tripped up the Lady Warrior’s scoring spree with a Mansfield layup. Holes in Mansfield’s defense continued to give Lamar a distinct advantage on the scoreboard, though, as the Lady Tigers began to slip further and further behind. Kaylee Ward drained a long-range three-pointer, but the big-time bucket only got Mansfield within ten points of Lamar as the game stood still with a 29-19 score. The Lady Warriors added one more bucket to boot before the halftime buzzer sounded as Mansfield went into the locker room down 31-19 to the Lady Warriors.
Both Mansfield and Lamar must’ve been bitten by the turnover bug during the halftime period as the teams burnt away the first two and a half minutes turning the ball over to one another. Lamar was able to sink a single free throw to score first in the third quarter but Kaylee Ward one-upped them with a pair of free throws of her own. That’s when the gas tank of the Lady Tigers began to show as Lamar’s deep bench was able to give breaks to the Lady Warriors while Mansfield was left gasping for air. Out of gas and down 35-21 is usually where most teams would lay down and take the L. Not this group of Lady Tigers. Miley Clopton struck with a powerful board bucket and was followed shortly after by Kaylee Ward with a layup and free throw to close the score to 35-26. A misguided pass by Lamar gave Mansfield the ball right back, but before the Lady Tigers could capitalize, Lamar called a full time out. The timeout was just enough for the Lady Tigers to set up a solid play and it was none other than Miley Clopton who racked up a basket for Mansfield at 1:19 left in the third quarter to set the score at 35-28. Slowly but surely, Mansfield was going to make this into one heck of a ball game. The Lady Tigers outscored Lamar 9-4 in the third quarter but were still down 35-28 to the Lady Warriors.
The fourth and final quarter of this heavyweight battle began with Lamar triple-teaming Kaylee Ward at every turn, but the Lady Warrior’s tactic fell short as Ward was fouled and sent to the line for a free throw point. Now with only a six-point lead, Lamar began to look a little desperate as they shot and missed from nearly every corner of the court. Kaylee Ward again took on the triple team and again powered her way through for a layup forcing Lamar to take a time-out with 6:24 left in the game. Four points was all that kept the top two teams in the 3A-4 apart which was something that got the Tiger faithful on their feet. Kaylee Ward cut Mansfield’s deficit to a 35-33 score, but Lamar came right back with a circus shot and added a free throw to top it off. The Lady Warriors doubled down and scored again which forced Mansfield to call a timeout with a 40-33 score and only 4:43 left in the fourth quarter. With Mansfield showing they could hang with Lamar, the Lady Warriors opted for some full-court defense to try and shut down any momentum Mansfield had left. The plan worked to a T too as the Lady Warriors went on a 4-0 run off of Mansfield turnovers. Holding on to an eleven-point lead, Lamar went for the scoreboard’s throat jumping out to a 46-35 lead before Shelbie Fuller gave the Lady Tigers some breathing room with a pair of free throws. Mansfield tried to mount an offensive comeback, but the scoreboard was just too far out of reach as Lamar defeated the Lady Tiger with a 49-40 final score.
