MVE caps a perfect season with 2A crown

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.