When the brackets were released for last week’s Norwood Lady Pirates Invitational, the Mansfield Lady Lions knew a potential semifinals match-up with Hartville could determine whether they would be playing for a title or battling for a third place plaque.
The scenario did give them a semifinals battle with the Lady Eagles and they unfortunately lost a tough game.
In the third place game against another Wright County foe in Mountain Grove, the Lady Lions were then focused on leaving Norwood with some hardware.
They did just that after beating the Lady Panthers, 46-37.
Mountain Grove led 17-12 early in the second quarter when the Lady Lions went on a 5-0 run to tie the game.
They went on to put together a 15-2 run to take a 25-19 lead. Logan Jones had nine points in the first half while Harleigh Hodges had eight points.
After the Lady Panthers opened the third with a 7-0 run, Logan Jones scored on two straight trips up the floor to put the Lady Lions back in front.
Ella Williams converted a 3-point play early in the fourth quarter. A 5-0 run pushed the lead to 10 and Mansfield went on to win the game by nine.
Logan Jones, who ended up earning a spot on the All-Tournament team, led the Lady Lions with 15 points. Hodges had 14 points, Lauren Jones scored eight, Williams had five points and Haley Tripp added four points.
In the semifinals, the Lady Lions had a rivalry match-up with Hartville, who went on to win the title on a buzzer beater shot in overtime against Salem.
Against the Lady Eagles, Mansfield’s defense held a solid Lady Eagles’ offense to just 21 points in the first half.
Logan Jones was a key scorer for Mansfield as she had six points in the half. Both Hodges and Lauren Jones added four points.
In the third quarter, Haley Tripp’s big 3-pointer was key to Mansfield winning the frame, 11-8.
Hartville took over the game from there though as they outscored the Lady Lions, 16-4, in the fourth quarter.
Logan Jones led Mansfield with 13 points. Hodges had six points; Lauren Jones scored four points; Haley Tripp had three points; Haven Tripp scored two points; and Ivy had one point.
In the opening round, Mansfield overcame a slow start against Gainesville and cruised to a 51-20 win.
Surprisingly, Gainesville led 7-6 at the end of the first quarter in spite of Haley Tripp’s two 3-pointers.
She added two more in the second quarter to help Mansfield rally to go up by seven points at the break.
Logan Jones scored nine points in the third quarter. The Lady Lions would end up making five 3-pointers in the second half in the 31-point win. As a team, Mansfield made nine 3-pointers in the win. Haley Tripp led Mansfield with 19 points, Logan Jones had 17 points,Williams scored six points, Lauren Jones had five points, Ivy had three points and Hodges scored one point.
