Bluejackets fall to Orleans 50-16 in regular season finale

By Noah Dalton

ORLEANS – Mitchell High School played their final regular season game of the year on Thursday, traveling to Orleans to take on the Bulldogs, the #6 ranked team in the state’s 1A division.

The Bluejackets got off to a slow start before ultimately falling in defeat, 50-16 to Orleans, who cemented themselves as this year’s Patoka Lake Conference champions with an undefeated record in conference play.

After the two sides each scored an early basket to begin the game, the Bulldogs went on a run, scoring 10 unanswered points to jump out to a commanding lead.

Mitchell’s Raylee Thompson drives to the hoop against Orleans

They held Mitchell to just the single shot made, a transition layup from Abigail Fountain, for the entire first quarter and a good chunk of the second, before another Bluejackets’ bucket, this time from Anna Sowders ended the run.

Unfortunately for Mitchell, Orleans kept a similar pace for the rest of the night, closing the half up 24-6 on their way to an eventual 34-point blowout win.

With the postseason on the horizon, which will begin with a Feb. 4 matchup against Clarksville for the Bluejackets, Mitchell head coach Dakota Brasher will look at this game for some of the positive and negatives of this performance as they prepare for that game.

“I thought what we did bothered them at times. We had a problem scoring the ball, they’re longer, they’re physical, their athleticism bothered us at times,” said Brasher.

“We struggled to score the basketball and they do a really good job defensively. But, overall, saw a lot of positives leading into Tuesday and that’s what we came in here trying to do, get better for Tuesday,” he continued.

Abigail Fountain scores for Mitchell in transition

This game marks the close of the regular season for Mitchell. They finished with a 4-18 record, an improvement from the previous year’s, where they went just 1-23.

They’ll now shift their focus to the upcoming sectional matchup against the Generals (6-15).

The Bluejackets are seeking the program’s first postseason win since the 2012-13 season, en-route to their first sectional championship since 2006-07.

Mitchell is dealing with some injuries heading into the game, with both Gwen Eastridge and Leighann Thompson, key contributors for the team, out for the rest of the season. 

Regardless, Brasher said the Bluejackets have a “next girl up” mentality heading into the sectional, with others ready to step up and fill the gap.

Bluejackets senior Anna Sowders pulls up for a jumper against Orleans

“It’s not anything to get down about, it happens. All teams are banged up at this point in the season.

“Everybody’s got nagging injuries, everybody has these things. So, it’s no excuse to come out and be flat and not have energy and we’re gonna come out and do what we do well and take it one play at a time,” he said.

“Obviously, we’re hurting, missing two key players but it’s next man up, and we’ve got girls that I think are gonna step up on Tuesday.”

To advance to the next round, where they’ll play the winner between an earlier matchup between Paoli and Eastern Pekin, Brasher said the team will need to see improvements on the offensive end.

“We’ve got to put more than 16 points on the board, frankly. Sixteen points doesn’t cut it. Defensively, I think we’re in the right spots defensively. I think we emphasized that. I thought we did a good job tonight, mixing up defenses for the most part,” he said.

“But we’ve got to figure out a way to put the ball in the basket. Sixteen points next Tuesday is not gonna get it done.”