Third quarter collapse leads to Lady Lions’ loss to Lady Trojans

A recently improved Mansfield Lady Lions’ basketball team was hoping to avenge a match-up with Sparta last season in which they fell to the new Summit Conference newcomers by 31 points.
Through the first half of Friday night’s match-up with the Lady Trojans, Mansfield led by two and appeared heading for a big conference win.
Unfortunately, they gave up 30 points in the third quarter and would eventually fall, 77-58.
Though Mansfield made just 5-of-20 shots from the field in the opening eight minutes, Elly Williams established her post presence with six points for a 14-11 edge.
Early in the second quarter, Mansfield’s Haven Tripp scored a basket to push the lead to five.
Sparta would hit two, 3-pointers in the quarter, but Cali Lemons scored six points to help the Lady Lions to a 27-25 halftime advantage.
The Lady Trojans responded to the deficit by opening the third quarter with a 14-0 run. They added another 14-0 run a few minutes later as they made four shots from behind the perimeter in a 30-point frame.
Tripp sparked the Lady Lions late with a 6-0 run to trim the lead to 13, but Mansfield would not get much closer in 19-point loss. Lemons led the Lady Lions with 19 points, five steals, two rebounds and two assists; Tripp tallied 15 points, five rebounds, two steals and two assists; Williams scored 10 points, eight rebounds, five steals and three assists; Addie Jones tallied eight points, six rebounds, five steals and four assists; and Gentry Alsup added two points, three rebounds and one steal; Kayley Kingery had two points, four rebounds, one assist and one steal; while Chloe Napier had two points and three rebounds.
The Lady Lions’ loss was their fourth in a row.
They opened the week with a tough 57-53 loss to Dora on the Lady Falcons’ court.
Mansfield trailed in the first half, 23-21, in spite of Williams’ nine points and Jones’ seven points. Lemons led the charge in the third quarter as she made two, 3-pointers and scored 10 of her team’s 17 points. Dora responded with a 20-13 run in the final eight minutes to win the game by four.
Williams finished with 18 points; Lemons added 16; both Kingery and Jones had seven points; while Tripp scored five points.
Against Seymour, the Lady Lions fell late in a close contest, 49-47.
The Lady Lions trailed 9-5 in the first quarter as Jones scored four of her team’s points. Mansfield responded before halftime with a 14-10 run with Jones and Lemons both scoring six points.
Jones scored six points in the fourth quarter, but Seymour and Mansfield were tied and took the game into overtime.
The Lady Tigers would win the overtime session to seal the win.
Jones scored a team-high 18 points; Lemons had 15; Williams scored 10; and both Kingery and Tripp had two points.