By Noah Dalton
BLOOMFIELD — Mitchell High School entered Tuesday night’s matchup against Eastern Greene looking to avenge consecutive losses to Salem and New Washington in their previous outings.
Things began promisingly for the Bluejackets, who built an early double-digit lead, but they couldn’t hold on and ultimately fell 41-37.
Mitchell started off hot, as they rattled off 13 straight points in the first quarter to take a 16-3 lead. The Thunderbirds closed the period with a late push, but the Bluejackets still held an 18-8 advantage.
Head coach Cari Isom said the early success came from the way her team handled the half-court.
“I felt like our pacing in the half-court on offense was a lot better,” Isom said. “We weren’t being rushed.”
But the offense slowed quite a bit from there. Mitchell went scoreless for most of the second quarter, and its lead shrank to four before a late three-pointer helped it take a 21-14 advantage into the break.
The Bluejackets led 29-27 after three quarters, but managed only eight points in the fourth, as Eastern Greene ultimately took control of the game.
Two late threes from Maddie Sylvester were the nail in the coffin, stifling Mitchell’s late attempts to come back.
Isom said injuries and starting guard Asiah Saunders fouling out in the third forced the Bluejackets to shuffle roles in the second half.
“We had to change a lot of jobs. We had a lot of injuries,” Isom said. “We had one fouled out, and so we had to have girls step up in places that, quite honestly, probably haven’t been before.”
She said the loss also gave her a chance to challenge her team in the locker room.
“They’re not used to playing with having girls wanting their starting spots. They’re not used to worrying about being outworked in our practices,” Isom said. “I told them, if they didn’t know today, they now know. Those spots are open, and it’s not even about starting. It’s more about playing time, giving good minutes, doing the things that we ask.”
Raylee Thompson led the Bluejackets with 15 points. Leighanne Thompson followed with eight, Madisyn Beyers scored six, and Abby Fountain and Gwen Eastridge each had four. The Bluejackets also committed 11 turnovers.
Sylvester led the Thunderbirds with 16 points, eight of them coming in the final four minutes. Kaelyn Johnson added 11.
Isom said she feels the team is on track this season given her early expectations, but they’ll need to continue to improve.
“We are competing. We are doubling our points per game,” Isom said. “Last year I think it was around 28 points a game. We’ve gotten in the 40s so far every game, and to put the points up there, we just need more.”
Mitchell will look to bounce back Friday night when it hosts Patoka Lake Athletic Conference opponent Perry Central, as the Bluejackets kick off conference action.
“We’ve really just been playing and recovering, and here are some things that we need to recover and do better,” Isom said.
