Let the games begin. On Tuesday, December 3, both Sr High Mansfield Tigers teams entered into play in the 2019 Golden Arrow Classic. The 3-1 Lady Tigers sealed the deal against the Lady Eagles with a 56-41 win sending them into the semi-finals on Thursday, December 5 to take on the 5-1 Pea Ridge Lady Blackhawks at 4 p.m. Mansfield was missing a few girls from this game due to sickness or injury but that didn’t give them any worry that they couldn’t get the job done.
Offensively, the Lady Tigers were lean mean slammin’ machines with Makayla Strutton leading the ambush with 28 points followed by Sadie Roberts with 11. Chloe Creekmore earned six, Brooke Wright and Danielle Lilly netted four each and making two and one respectively was Mikayla Harrison and Sarah Fisher. Earning the only three blocks of the night was Wright who also broke a school record in Mansfields game against Hackett when she blocked seven shots. The old school record was held by Stephanie Taylor in 93-94 with five. Defensively, it was Strutton who again set the court ablaze with her five steals. Lilly obtained four.
The 2-2 Mansfield Tigers struggled slightly in their game against the Eagles taking the “L” 52-42. But no worries! The boys were back in the game the next night when they went toe to toe with the Rockets of Future School of Fort Smith. The Rockets never could quiet shoot ahead as they fell from the sky 78-73 in overtime. The win put the Tigers playing their next round of the Classic on Saturday, December 7 against Providence Academy at 1:30 p.m.
Accounting for 68 of the Tigers 78 points against the Rockets was sophomore guard, Codi Chick, leading the team in scoring with 25 points followed by senior forward, Ethan Stovall with 24, and senior guard, Layton Howard with 19. Chick also earned five assists, two steals and shot 53% from the field. Stovall racked-up eight rebounds and made 10/12 from the free-throw line at 83%. And Howard grabbed four rebounds, four assists, and shot 58% field goal percentage. Tyler Holmes, Bri Sanderson, and Zayne Dugan also accounted for four rebounds each.
Head Coach for the Tigers, Keith Dake, had this to say. “The Tigers put on an offensive clinic. Scoring quick out of transition and capitalizing from forced turnovers. Ball movement was a huge plus in this matchup, taking advantage of the pressure defense and getting the ball in the hands of our scorers early and often. Defensively, we struggled to keep them off the boards, which is something we look to address in the upcoming weeks thoroughly. Being just two weeks removed from football season, I am very pleased with our progress thus far, though we still have a long way to go to reach our true potential and get into basketball shape. This team is as dynamic as you can find locally and a group everyone should keep their eye on throughout this season!”
