Bluejackets suffer 47-36 Senior Night loss to New Washington

By Noah Dalton

MITCHELL – Mitchell’s matchup on Tuesday night against New Washington was Senior Night for the team, where they honored their two senior players, Jorja Lamm and Anna Sowders.

Both Lamm and Sowders joined the team last season, the program’s first under the leadership of head coach Dakota Brasher.

Brasher said the two have been an integral part of the team since joining, particularly this season, where they serve as leaders for his young group.

Anna Sowders drives to the basket against New Washington

“They have such a good feel on the locker room and the morale. They’ve been great captains, they’ve been great senior leaders. I can’t say enough about them, and they are two wonderful young women. They’re gonna go off and do incredible, incredible things,” he said.

The Mustangs were victorious on the night, 47-36, spoiling the occasion for the Bluejackets.

New Washington got off to a strong start, scoring 17 in the first quarter while managing to shoot 67% from the floor to take an early eight-point lead.

In response, Mitchell ramped up their defense pressure in the second quarter, with some success, forcing the Mustangs to turn the ball over nine times in the period.

On the other end, the Bluejackets struggled to take advantage of the additional opportunities, scoring just seven in the quarter, shooting 2/12, which allowed New Washington to maintain an eight-point advantage, 24-16, despite the giveaways.

Raylee Thompson looks for an open teammate against New Washington

“I got after the girls at the end of the first quarter.

That’s just not how we like to play. We weren’t keeping the ball in front of us, letting a couple of their players do whatever they wanted,” said Brasher. “So, second quarter, we kind of locked down, and our pressure started working, and did some good things, and forced some turnovers.”

The Mustangs continued to control the game in the third, particularly limiting their turnovers to just one in the quarter. They stayed out ahead, pushing their lead up to 11 points, 35-24, which was the margin it finished as by the final whistle.

“We felt like we needed to try to speed them up and use our athleticism. And credit to them, they didn’t let us do that and didn’t let it affect them. They played a very fundamental game, especially in the second half, of doing what they were good at,” Brasher said, crediting New Washington.

With just four games left on their schedule, the next of which will be Thursday night, when they’ll travel to Eastern Greene to take on the Thunderbirds, Brasher reflected on some of the areas where he’s seen the most progress from his roster, many of which had little to no experience playing at the varsity level at the start of the year.

Jorja Lamm shoots a jumper against New Washington

“Our fundamentals have gotten better, our feet have gotten better, our pivots. Being able to throw proper bounce passes, using the correct hand. Just simple fundamentals like that, that we have seen a great improvement on. And then effort, just playing hard. I don’t ever have to question these girls’ efforts anymore,” he said.

“I feel like they play super hard and super aggressive, and they do what we ask of them, and the girls are bought in. We still have to get better. At the end of the day, you’ve gotta knock down shots, and we need to. Part of that is shot preparation,” he added.

Each side had three scorers in double figures.

New Washington’s Kristyn Greenwell and Ava Latham were the top scorers on the night with 12 points each, with Emily Botorff adding 11.

For Mitchell, Sowders and Raylee Thompson each netted 11 points, with Gwen Eastridge right behind them with 10.