MITCHELL — Mitchell High School suffered their first loss of the season on Thursday, falling 62-35 to Salem.
The Lions jumped out to an early lead, thanks in large part to their full-court pressure and strong play defensively.
The Bluejackets scored just five points in the first quarter, on the way to a 22-point deficit at halftime.
Perhaps the biggest factor in Mitchell’s early struggles were turnovers.
The Bluejackets turned the ball over 20 times in the first half, giving away opportunities on the offensive end and setting up Salem for easy baskets on the other side of the court.
“They sped us up in the first half. We weren’t being fundamental. We were throwing the ball all over the place,” said Mitchell head coach Dakota Brasher.
Mitchell settled things down a bit in the second half, finding a more consistent offensive rhythm in the third quarter, but Salem freshman Kinsley Hollowwell caught fire from deep, knocking down three triples in the quarter to keep the Bluejackets at bay.
Hollowwell led all players on the night with 23 points, knocking down five of the team’s seven made three pointers.
“We just haven’t gotten far enough in building our half-court defense to decide what we would do in those scenarios, and she can really shoot it, so credit to her,” Brasher said regarding Hollowwell’s big night from beyond the arc.
Leading the Bluejackets in scoring was Raylee Thompson, with 16 points. Leighann Thompson and Abigail Fountain each added six points.
It was a short turnaround for Mitchell heading into the game, having just beaten Bloomfield in to open the season a couple night earlier.
They’ll have a longer break between games for next week, as they’ll hit the road for their first Patoka Lake Athletic Conference game against Perry Central on Friday night, before taking on county rival Bedford North-Lawrence on Saturday.
Brasher said the team will take that time to look over their performances to start the season, looking to find areas to work one over the next week.
“For Friday, it’s about us and it always will be it’s about us first. It’s about doing what we do and how we can play this next week is how we can get better,” he said.
