Mansfield Legacy Ends John Tyler’s Season With 25-10, 25-11, 25-16 Sweep

TERRELL -- The John Tyler Lady Lions were late to the party, and before they knew it, their season had come to a crashing halt.

Mansfield Legacy took advantage of a shaky start on the part of JT, rolling to a 25-10, 25-11, 25-16 sweep on Tuesday in their Class 4A Region II bi-district playoff at Terrell ISD Athletic Complex.

"Really and truly, we didn't come to play," John Tyler coach Stephanie March-Smith said. "That's how we looked and that's how we played, like we weren't ready to play."

The Lady Broncos (23-22), which built leads of 11-3 and 18-5 on a myriad of Lady Lions unforced errors in the opening set, will face No. 1 Lucas Lovejoy on Friday in the area round.

John Tyler, which finished second in District 16-4A during the regular season, ends its season at 25-15.

"The playoffs are a different season in itself, so you have to be prepared to come in and put everything out there," March-Smith said. "There's a difference in getting ready for the playoffs, and we weren't ready."

Legacy spread the wealth offensively. Samantha McDonald led the way with seven kills, followed by six apiece from Amanda Lanter and Samantha Eaton and five each from Kendall Reidmiller and Andie Alford. Kelsey Rombach assisted on 26 points.

Erica Franklin had four kills to lead John Tyler. Kashanti Flowers and Breanna Choice each had three, and Quaneshia Johnson capped her stellar high school career with 11 assists.

The Lady Broncos quickly took control of Game 2, building leads of 5-0, 10-3 and 17-4. Lanter and Eaton combined for nine kills as Legacy went up, 2-0, in the match.

It looked as if Legacy would roll to a quick win in the third game, but John Tyler rallied from 12 points down to cut the Lady Broncos' lead to 21-15.

"It was too late to start playing," March-Smith said.

Legacy squashed any thought of a comeback with four of the next five points to finish the match and JT's season.

"It's a learning experience for the younger kids, and hopefully they learn something from this experience," March-Smith.