Arkansas high school girls basketball state tournament final live updates: Mansfield vs. Mount Vernon-Enola (3/9/2024)
HOT SPRINGS – Something wild was bound to happen with two undefeated squads playing for a state championship, and that is exactly what occurred.
Mount Vernon-Enola guard Marlee Raby all but sealed the Lady Warhawks' second consecutive state championship when she scored the game's final points on somewhat of an accidental play, as the MVE took down Mansfield 50-44.
While the two points are what MVE head coach Adam Carlton envisioned, that was not exactly how he thought it would play out.
"I was trying to get Raby the ball for some free throws, but when everybody took off down the other way you have to go and shoot that layup," Carlton told Arkansas PBS immediately following the game.
"That was not necessarily set, we wanted everybody to go over her and hopefully get her by herself, but we even went the wrong way right then."
Raby was named the 2A state tournament MVP and finished with 12 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals against the Lady Tigers.
It appeared the Lady Warhawks (43-0) were going to pull away after getting in a groove prior to halftime, but the Lady Tigers (32-1) continued to punch back. They had a one-point lead with six minutes remaining in the contest, but costly mistakes did them in down the stretch.
MVE's Dessie McCarty and Mansfield's Kaylee Ward expected to be keys for each team in the low post, and they were. McCarty finished with 20 points, 16 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals.
Kaylee Ward also had a dominant performance, finishing with 17 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks. Her sister, Kynslee Ward, had 10 points and 3 steals, while Alyson Edwards added 11 points with 8 assists and 7 rebounds.
See previous live updates below.
Final: MVE 50-44
MVE survives in a wild one to win their second consecutive state championship.
4th Qtr: MVE 50-44, :35
In a wild sequence of events, basically everyone but Raby went to the Mansfield end and she laid it in to extend the lead.
4th Qtr: MVE 48-44, :42
Bowman instructs his team to foul, then calls time.
4th Qtr: MVE 46-44, 2:06
Mansfield head coach Ethan Bowman calls time following a layup by Kaylee Ward.
4th Qtr: MVE 42-40, 4:40
Alyssa Gilbert breaks the tie on a fastbreak layup.
4th Qtr: Tied at 40, 5:22
Playing with four fouls, McCarty nails a three-pointer to tie it back up for the fifth time. Timeout MVE.
4th Qtr: Mansfield 38-37, 6:18
Edwards hits two frees throws and gives the lead back to Mansfield.
4th Qtr: MVE 37-36, 6:46
McCarty picks up her fourth foul as Kaylle Ward connects on 1-of-2 free throws.
4th Qtr: MVE 37-35, 7:43
Kynslee Ward gets the Mansfield faithful to cheer with a three from the top of the key, cutting the deficit to two.
End of 3rd: MVE 37-32
Edwards lays another in and cuts MVE's lead to just three points, but Raby converted two shots at the charity stripe seconds before the horn. McCarty is up to 17 points and 14 rebounds, while Kaylee Ward is at 12 and 8.
3rd Qtr: MVE 35-27, 1:56
Edwards muscles through Raby to get a layup to cut the lead back to single digits and is fouled, but can't convert the and-one.
3rd Qtr: MVE 35-25, 2:58
Back-to-back threes by Harlie Fuller gets Mansfield back within seven. Then Raby answers with a three of her own to put the Lady Warhawks back up by ten.
3rd Qtr: 32-19, 5:00
Mansfield just took its second shot of the quarter, an unsuccessful three-point attempt by Kynslee Ward.
3rd Qtr: MVE 29-19, 6:52
Marlee Raby is stepping up on both sides of the ball and gets MVE's lead to double digits.
3rd Qtr: MVE 26-19, 7:26
McCarty picked up her third foul.
Halftime: MVE 26-19
The 6-foot bigs are doing their jobs, as McCarty already has a double-double, 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Kaylee Ward is at 10 and 7. MVE is outrebounding the Lady Tigers 25-12.
2nd Qtr: MVE 26-19, 1:26
Another three by Person gives MVE its largest lead of the night.
2nd Qtr: MVE 21-19, 2:29
McCarty guarded her as tight as she could, but Kaylee Ward lays the ball in, but misses the and-one after being fouled.
2nd Qtr: MVE 19-17, 3:14
Ashleigh Sprague puts MVE back in the lead with two successful free throws.
2nd Qtr: Tied at 17, 3:56
Each team has traded leads and ties, but it is back to being nodded all up at the media timeout.
2nd Qtr: MVE 15-12, 7:46
AJ Person nails a three-pointer from the left elbow to give MVE its first lead.
End of 1st: Tied at 12
The only remaining unbeaten teams in Arkansas regardless of gender or classification are putting on a show thus far. MVE is dominating on the boards, 12-4, but losing the turnover battle handily. Everything else is about equal.
1st Qtr: Tied at 12, 1:02
McCarty ties it up with a three-pointer.
1st Qtr: Mansfield 12-7, 3:26
Already the physical matchup that was expected, Mansfield is showing the defending champs that they are not intimidated. Media timeout.
1st Qtr: Mansfield 7-5, 4:40
Dessie McCarty lays it in under the basket and is fouled, the and-one is good to put MVE within two.
1st Qtr: Mansfield 5-2, 5:27
AJ Person puts the first points on the board for the Lady Warhawks to break Mansfield's run.
1st Qtr: Mansfield 5-0, 6:00
Lady Tigers jump on the defending champs to start the game.
We are underway.
(Photos by Tommy Land)
-- Kyle Sutherland | kyle@scorebooklive.com | @k_sutherlandAR
