When the Mansfield Lady Tigers fell in the semifinal of last year’s State Playoffs, the juniors and sophomores of the 2022-23 group could have easily just given up on their upcoming 2023-24 season. Doing so wouldn’t have been hard to do as the Lady Tigers lost a group of very talented seniors in Natalie Allison, Skylynn Harris, Seven Sanderson, and Brooklyn Adams to graduation which was a “sizable” loss for the program. Instead of laying down after losing their giants of the hardwood though, the Lady Tigers program accepted the challenge to continue Mansfield’s winning ways en route to a 10-0 start to the 2023-24 season. Mansfield hasn’t played any powder puffs along the way either as the Lady Tigers have defeated teams like Booneville, Pea Ridge, Elkins, Poteau, Waldron, Hackett, Cedarville, Western Yell, and Charleston. The Lady Tigers won number ten on Tuesday, December 19th against the Lavaca Lady Golden Arrows and did so in grand fashion with a 53-19 victory.
Mansfield’s Kaylee Ward won the opening tip off and just like that it was off to the races as the Lady Tigers sister act took center stage with Kaylee Ward dishing the ball to her older sibling, Kynslee Ward for an easy layup. The Lady Tigers outbounded Lavaca at the other end of the court and Kaylee Ward took the ball in for a contested board bucket forcing Lavaca to take an early time out at the 6:10 mark in the first quarter. Lavaca couldn’t get on target with their shots early on which allowed Mansfield to take full advantage of their on-court talent. Alyson Edwards made a sweet assist to Kaylee Ward for a layup which was soon followed by a Kynslee Ward breakaway layup and then Kaylee Ward’s three-point swish giving the Lady Tigers an 11-0 lead. Lavaca finally broke Mansfield’s run with a steal that led to a layup which put a pause on Mansfield’s accuracy for the remainder of the first quarter. The Lady Tigers began to make mental mistakes and miss free throws which allowed Lavaca to close the gap to a 14-7 game at the first-quarter buzzer.
The Lady Tigers’ hot start continued to cool in the second quarter with both Mansfield and Lavaca trading turnovers back and forth to start the second quarter. Ill-advised passes and missed shots made it to where Mansfield eked out just four points halfway through the quarter until head coach, Ethan Bowman, called a timeout at the 5:30 mark to settle his team down. The timeout allowed the Lady Tigers starters to calm their nerves and catch their breath, but Lavaca was able to do the same as the second quarter continued back and forth on the scoreboard. Harley Fuller battled her way into the paint for a rebound and put back which got the Lady Tigers bench on their feet. Lavaca countered though with a wide-open three-point shot to get within eight points of the Lady Tigers. Lavaca focusing on the Ward sisters worked for a bit, but it backfired as they left an ever-dangerous Alyson Edwards open at the boards for an easy board bucket. Mansfield maintained their lead but by drawing fouls and sinking free throws, the Lady Golden Arrows stayed in the game as the teams went into the half with Mansfield leading 21-12.
It’s a known fact that the Lady Tiger teams over the past few years have been second-half teams. The Lady Tigers showed Lavaca that they’re not going to change up what has proven to be successful as Mansfield laid it on the Lady Golden Arrows in the third quarter. Mansfield started the third quarter with a Kaylee Ward jump shot which was followed by Trinity Triska weaving her way into the basket for a score. The quick back-to-back scores forced Lavaca to call a time out but the slight break in the game didn’t cool down the Lady Tigers hot streak, not this time. Kynslee Ward kept the hardwood burning with rebounds, steals, and full-court drives for points to push Mansfield’s lead higher and higher. Harlie Fuller showed that the Lady Tigers’ defense is just as good as their offense as they knocked the ball out from a Lavaca player and then crashed to the floor to retrieve it. The defensive effort by Fuller was not in vain as she pushed the ball from the floor to Alyson Edwards who took it down for an easy bucket. Another Kynslee Ward steal led to more points by Alyson Edwards stretching the score even further in the Lady Tigers’ favor. Kaylee Ward put the final touches on the third quarter with a jump shot and two free throws as Mansfield held Lavaca to zero points and went into the final quarter with a commanding 40-12 lead.
The fourth quarter was short, sweet, and to the point as Alyson Edwards, Kaylee Ward, and Kynslee Ward put the game out of reach for Lavaca by adding another 14 points to the scoreboard. The Lady Tigers’ defense bent slightly, but still only allowed seven points as Mansfield snapped the Lady Golden Arrows with a 54-19 final score. Kaylee Ward led the Lady Tigers in scoring and rebounds with 21 points, 16 rebounds, and 9 blocks in the game. Alyson Edwards finished with an impressive 16 points and 8 rebounds. Kynslee Ward recorded a triple-double with scoring 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 steals against Lavaca. Trinity Triska and Harlie Fuller both wound up with two points and two assists each and the duo combined for 8 steals to boot. The win puts Mansfield with a 10-0 overall record and a 2-0 conference record, but an old foe looms ahead of the Lady Tigers. The Lady Tigers will travel south and renew their rivalry with the Acorn Lady Tigers on Thursday, December 21st in a game between two teams with their eyes on the 2A State Championship.
