By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
For the Mansfield girls’ basketball team, the words “leading scorer” and “knee injury” have been mentioned in the same sentence way too often recently.
“Injuries killed us for the fourth year in a row,” said Mansfield head coach Gary Greene of the 2016-17 season. “We lost our leading scorer to an ACL injury for the fourth consecutive year. That changes everything for us if we don’t have to deal with that. I thought we competed well and played hard and I expect that to continue. I know we will play hard and defend well.”
Mansfield finished 12-12 overall last season. The Lions fell to Plato in the opening round of the Class 2, District 4 tournament.
Mansfield graduated seven total lettermen from that squad, including four-year starter Adrian Adams. All-conference guard Calista Bogart, leading 3-point shooter Alexis Farris and post player Maci Gray are also gone.
“We have a lot to replace,” Greene said.
Shooting will be an area to watch. Mansfield typically defends well – they limited the opposition to 45 or fewer points in 17 games last season – but scoring has been a challenge.
“We have not shot the ball well with this group and obviously points are a priority,” Greene said.
The returning talent pool includes junior Karsyn Brooke, a two-time all-conference selection who averaged close to a double-double last season with 10.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per game.
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Senior Lauren Harris will also be a factor for Mansfield.
“(Karsyn) is extremely strong and athletic,” Greene said. “We hope to get increased production from Lauren this year. She just has to become more aggressive around the basket.”
Several underclassmen and varsity newcomers are competing for the remaining varsity spots.
Sophomore Chloe Lansdown is the team’s top perimeter threat and will also see point guard duties, along with junior Hannah Tripp.
Sisters Grace and Raine Roy will also be regular varsity contributors.
“Grace Roy will add an athletic presence to our lineup and her sister (Raine) is a capable scorer who could provide some points for us as well,” Greene said.
Junior Natalie Quick moves up from the JV and “is a very smart player with a knack for the ball,” Greene said.
Sophomore Gracie Williams also possesses a high basketball IQ and brings additional speed to the floor.
“She has a very high ceiling and could make a big difference for us as she has the potential to score some points in transition,” Greene said.
Mansfield’s season opener is Nov. 20 at home versus Bakersfield. The Lions will also participate in Norwood’s Scallywag Showdown (Dec. 4-9), the Mountain Grove Holiday Tournament (Dec. 26-29) and the Mansfield Lady Lion Invitational (Jan. 22-28).
“We should be a strong defensive team as that is always our focus,” Greene said. “I think we have overall good team speed and hope to use that to our advantage. We’ll be competitive and fun to watch because we will play hard every night and compete.”
