
By Noah Dalton
MITCHELL – In a makeup from a previously scheduled game that was postponed because of inclement weather, Mitchell High School welcomed North Daviess to The Hive for matinee action on Saturday.
In both instances it was a storm of sorts that doomed that matchup for the Bluejackets.
The initial date was pushed back because of heavy snow that blanketed Lawrence County roads.
The game itself was largely decided in a second-quarter scoring downpour from the Cougars, which saw them score 14 unanswered points on their way to outscoring Mitchell 17-6 in the period, on their way to an eventual 64-33 win.
Before that, the two sides were separated by just two points, 12-10 after the first quarter, a much easier obstacle to overcome than the inches of snow that covered the roads separating them earlier in the week.
North Daviess three-point shooting was a key to their success in the second, with the team knocking down four from beyond the arc. Those efforts were spearheaded by Macy Alderson, who knocked down 3/4 tries from deep in the quarter.
“We just kind of let off steam a little bit. Some of their shooters got going. We were a little bit tired in the second quarter, which meant we weren’t quite where we needed to be defensively and let them get some shots up that normally we try to take away with the style we were playing tonight, so credit to them,” said Bluejackets’ head coach Dakota Brasher. “Cost us in that second quarter and ultimately cost us the game.”
With the momentum on their side, the Cougars continued to score at a high volume, posting 24 points in the third quarter, just one less than Mitchell had scored in the entire game to that point.
Brasher turned to his bench in the second half, with some of those players, notably Ava Woods and Gracie Kohlhaas, providing a jolt to the lineup.
With a tight schedule of three games in the week due to the weather delays, Brasher looked for depth to help offset some of the fatigue that had built throughout the week.
“I had to go to the bench and play a more balanced rotation tonight and those girls did a great job off the bench. Jorja [Lamm] picked up two fouls early and Ava Woods gave us great minutes in the first and second quarter. I loved her energy and we had it across the board,” he said.
“We had girls come in and make shots from off the bench that normally don’t get a ton of run, so credit to those girls.”
Scoring for Mitchell were Raylee Thompson, who led the team with 11 points, as well as Anna Sowders, six points; Paisley Modglin, three points, Gwen Eastridge, six points; Gracie Kohlhaas, five poitns; Avah Cooper, two points and Karlee Gabhart, three points