By Noah Dalton
MITCHELL — Mitchell High School kicked off their 2025 campaign on Tuesday with a lopsided win against Bloomfield, besting the Cardinals 40-19.
This victory, the Bluejackets’ first to open a season since 2020-21, comes on the heels of a rocky run for the program, who’ve won just 10 of 69 games in the past three seasons. Perhaps most notable during that period were the struggles of the 2023-24 season, the first under current head coach Dakota Brasher, which saw Mitchell finish 1-22
The team improved to four wins in the following season, showing notable improvement as the year progressed. Tuesday night’s triumph over Bloomfield seemed to be not just a continuation of effort over the past two years, but a significant leap forward for a young roster with just one senior this season.
”This team is bought in. We’ve had our bumps in the road, but for the most part it’s been the same core group of girls. They’ve bought into the message and we come in every day and we try to get better, and they believe in that,” said Brasher.
Most notable in the Bluejackets’ win was the team’s defensive performance, effort in the first half.
Mitchell held Bloomfield to just four points in the first half, including a scoreless second quarter. They did so by pressuring the ball and forcing turnovers, 16 to be exact, through the first two periods.
“It’s all personnel-based. I think we’re a little bit more athletic than we have been in the past year. We always try to put our girls in the best position to succeed and I think that’s what it is, is to be able to pressure and maybe take some things away that we haven’t been able to take away in the past,” Brasher said.
Leading the charge for the Bluejackets was Raylee Thompson, who scored 21 points, while also grabbing a team-high eight rebounds. Overall, It was a total group effort for Mitchell, who had nine of their 13 players score in the game.
There won’t be much time to celebrate this win for the Bluejackets, with another game shortly after on the schedule, Thursday night against Salem at The Hive.
It will be the Lions first game of the season, meaning Brasher and his staff won’t have any game film to scout their opponents, so their short window to prepare will primarily be focused on their own game and things he feels they can improve upon based on their performance against Bloomfield.
“It’s all going to be focused on us and watching the film late at night tonight and seeing what we can get better tomorrow in a two-hour practice to come out here and do it again. There’s benefits to playing a game before, but there’s also a downfall,” Brasher said.
“We’re probably going to have to fight through some sore legs. It’s my job to keep their energy high and to make sure we’re putting pressure on the ball and doing what we want to do on Thursday night like we did tonight.”
Mitchell Stats
Points: 40 | FGM: 13/46 | FG%: 28.26% | 3PM: 3/11 | 3P%: 27.27% | FTM: 11/26 | FT%: 42.31% | Rebounds: 33 | Team Turnovers: 19
Individual Player Stats for Mitchell:
#0 Hailee Hall – Points: 1 | FGM: 0/1 | FG%: 0.00% | 3PM: 0/0 | 3P%: 0% | FTM: 1/2 | FT%: 50.00% | Rebounds: 2
#1 Paisley Modglin – Points: 2 | FGM: 1/6 | FG%: 16.67% | 3PM: 0/4 | 3P%: 0.00% | FTM: 0/0 | FT%: 0% | Rebounds: 2
#2 Leighann Thompson – Points: 2 | FGM: 1/11 | FG%: 9.09% | 3PM: 0/0 | 3P%: 0% | FTM: 0/4 | FT%: 0.00% | Rebounds: 4
#3 Ava Woods – Points: 2 | FGM: 1/3 | FG%: 33.33% | 3PM: 0/1 | 3P%: 0.00% | FTM: 0/2 | FT%: 0.00% | Rebounds: 4
#4 Gwen Eastridge – Points: 2 | FGM: 1/1 | FG%: 100.00% | 3PM: 0/0 | 3P%: 0% | FTM: 0/0 | FT%: 0% | Rebounds: 0
#5 Asiah Saunders – Points: 2 | FGM: 1/2 | FG%: 50.00% | 3PM: 0/0 | 3P%: 0% | FTM: 0/0 | FT%: 0% | Rebounds: 5
#11 Raylee Thompson – Points: 21 | FGM: 6/12 | FG%: 50.00% | 3PM: 2/4 | 3P%: 50.00% | FTM: 7/8 | FT%: 87.50% | Rebounds: 8
#14 Karlee Gabhart – Points: 0 | FGM: 0/0 | FG%: 0% | 3PM: 0/0 | 3P%: 0% | FTM: 0/2 | FT%: 0.00% | Rebounds: 2
#15 Abigail Fountain – Points: 1 | FGM: 0/3 | FG%: 0.00% | 3PM: 0/0 | 3P%: 0% | FTM: 1/6 | FT%: 16.67% | Rebounds: 4
#20 Raylee Blackwell – Points: 7 | FGM: 2/7 | FG%: 28.57% | 3PM: 1/2 | 3P%: 50.00% | FTM: 2/2 | FT%: 100.00% | Rebounds: 2
Bloomfield Stats
Points: 19 | FGM: 7/40 | FG%: 17.50% | 3PM: 0/12 | 3P%: 0.00% | FTM: 5/14 | FT%: 35.71% | Rebounds: 32 | Team Turnovers: 24
Individual Player Stats for Bloomfield:
#3 Zyla Hendricks – Points: 2 | FGM: 1/6 | FG%: 16.67% | 3PM: 0/3 | 3P%: 0.00% | FTM: 0/2 | FT%: 0.00% | Rebounds: 2
#5 Lola Myers – Points: 1 | FGM: 0/4 | FG%: 0.00% | 3PM: 0/2 | 3P%: 0.00% | FTM: 1/2 | FT%: 50.00% | Rebounds: 5
#11 Lani Graves – Points: 5 | FGM: 2/9 | FG%: 22.22% | 3PM: 0/2 | 3P%: 0.00% | FTM: 1/2 | FT%: 50.00% | Rebounds: 14
#12 Dixie Hudson – Points: 4 | FGM: 1/3 | FG%: 33.33% | 3PM: 0/0 | 3P%: 0% | FTM: 2/4 | FT%: 50.00% | Rebounds: 3
#14 Rylynne Potts – Points: 2 | FGM: 1/1 | FG%: 100.00% | 3PM: 0/0 | 3P%: 0% | FTM: 1/2 | FT%: 50.00% | Rebounds: 3
#15 Aaliyah O’Conner – Points: 0 | FGM: 0/2 | FG%: 0.00% | 3PM: 0/0 | 3P%: 0% | FTM: 0/0 | FT%: 0% | Rebounds: 3
#20 Lexi Oliphant – Points: 5 | FGM: 2/12 | FG%: 16.67% | 3PM: 0/4 | 3P%: 0.00% | FTM: 0/2 | FT%: 0.00% | Rebounds: 1
#23 Mackenzie Ison – Points: 0 | FGM: 0/2 | FG%: 0.00% | 3PM: 0/1 | 3P%: 0.00% | FTM: 0/0 | FT%: 0% | Rebounds: 0
#24 Averi Holt – Points: 0 | FGM: 0/0 | FG%: 0% | 3PM: 0/0 | 3P%: 0% | FTM: 0/0 | FT%: 0% | Rebounds: 1
#30 Aerie Cooper – Points: 0 | FGM: 0/1 | FG%: 0.00% | 3PM: 0/0 | 3P%: 0% | FTM: 0/0 | FT%: 0% | Rebounds: 0
#54 Ella Vandeventer – Points: | FGM: / | FG%: 0% | 3PM: / | 3P%: 0% | FTM: / | FT%: 0% | Rebounds:
