It is only natural when two evenly matched teams face off that the contest will feature an exciting finish, and the game between the Mansfield Lady Lions and the Ava Lady Bears did not disappoint.
The Lady Lions travelled to Ava on Thursday night hoping to defeat the Lady Bears (4-7) for the second time in less than two weeks. The Lady Bears, however, had other ideas as they defeated Mansfield 43-40 in the rematch. Ava senior center Hope Evans led all scorers with 14 points.
In a contest that saw Mansfield (6-8) lead for much of the game, the Lady Bears tied the score with 2:47 left in the fourth quarter on a field goal by Jacey Swofford. Moments later, Evans gave the Lady Bears their first lead since early in the first quarter with a shot that put Ava up 37-35.
Mansfield refused to go down quietly, though, as junior guard Calista Bogart stole the ball at half court and raced down the floor for an uncontested layup that tied the game 37-37.
With five seconds remaining and a one-point lead, Ava freshman guard Kiaunna Snow made two clutch free throws to put the Lady Bears ahead 43-40. On the ensuing possession, Mansfield missed a three-pointer at the buzzer that would have tied the game.
Defensively, the Lady Lions forced Ava into 20 turnovers, but the second-half struggles on offense ultimately led to their defeat. Mansfield head coach Gary Greene made no excuses for the loss.
“We had a 13-point second half,” said Greene. “That’s not enough to win. That’s the ballgame right there. If you hold a team to 43 points, then you ought to win the game.”
Greene knows what his team needs to do to improve in the future.
“We missed way too many shots from point-blank range, and we’ve got to do better at it,” said Greene. “If we expect to be in games, we have to make shots around the basket.”
On the other side, Ava head coach Steve Sanders knew this was a great win over a very tough Mansfield team.
“They are a well-coached team,” said Sanders. “They did a great job of getting open shots and making those shots in the first half.”
Mansfield looked poised to take this game as they opened up an eight-point lead at halftime. After the half, however, a completely different story unfolded.
“It was definitely a game of two halves,” said Sanders. “We tried to adjust to what they did [in the first half], and our kids were able to stay in the game defensively. We made some big plays down the stretch, and we made free throw when it mattered. Fortunately, we got the win.”
Sanders also praised his team after the win and knew exactly why they were able to come back and win.
“It was our effort and communication,” said Sanders. “For the most part, we did a better job of boxing out in the second half, and we quit giving them so many second and third chances.”
Calista Bogart led the Lady Lions with nine points.
Both teams are in action next Monday night as Mansfield hosts the Fordland Lady Eagles, and Ava travels to Houston to play the Lady Tigers.
In the junior varsity contest, Ava defeated Mansfield 30-16.
Box Score
Mansfield 11 16 3 10—40
Ava 9 10 9 15—43
Mansfield – Calista Bogart 9, Maci Gray 7, Abby Roy 6, Alexis Farris 6, Morgan Price 5, Karsyn Brooke 5, Adrian Adams 2
Ava – Hope Evans 14, Jacey Swofford 13, Kiaunna Snow 8, Bailey Loge 6, Candice Summers 2
