by Noah Dalton
MITCHELL — On Tuesday, Mitchell High School fell to Loogootee 56-18, marking the fifth-straight loss for the Bluejackets after winning their season-opener.
Things began to turn south for Mitchell in the second quarter, where they were outscored by the Lions 19-2 in the period.
The Bluejackets were held scoreless for most of the quarter, with their lone two points coming via a shot at the buzzer.
Prior to the slide in the second, Mitchell led most of the first quarter after knocking down back-to-back three pointers early before being outscored 28-4 for the rest of the half.
“Stuff stopped working for us offensively. They made a couple of scheme changes defensively. We talked about it, that they played multiple defenses, and we just weren’t able to come out and execute tonight offensively,” Bluejackets head coach Dakota Brasher said about the first half.
The Lions continued to roll in the second half, eventually pushing their lead beyond the 35-point threshold to initiate a running clock in the fourth quarter on their way to a strong win.
Turnovers remain a key factor is Mitchell’s struggles to start the season, with 26 for the night, 18 of which came in the first half.
“We’ll just have to execute. We have to be in the right spots at the right time with the right spacing. Right now, we’re still young, and we’re learning,” said Brasher.
“A lot of our turnovers right now are being out of position offensively. It’s three feet this way instead of this way, and those kill us in half-court offense, especially when you play a really long and athletic team like Loogootee. Credit to them.”
Loogootee’s Alaina Diamond led all scorers on the night with 18 points. Just behind her was her teammate, Lydia Hawkins, who added 16.
Leighann Thompson and Raylee Thompson led the Bluejackets in scoring for the night with six points each.
Next up for Mitchell will be a matchup on the road against Brownstown-Central the following night, after the gametime was moved forward due to the success of Brownstown’s football team, who are competing for a bid in the state championship game on Friday, the original date of the game.
Brasher is looking to see what his team looks like defensively in the matchup after a rocky few weeks to start the season.
“They’re long and athletic, and they really shoot the ball. It’s going to be a good test for us defensively for sure. I’m excited to see what our half-court defense can do,” Brasher said about the matchup against the Braves.
