By Noah Dalton
MITCHELL – Friday night’s Patoka Lake Athletic Conference matchup between Mitchell and Perry Central was defined by pressure, particularly that which was applied by the Commodores through a relentless full-court press that forced a heap of turnovers and eventually led to their victory by a 54-22 margin.
From the jump, Perry Central were all over the Bluejackets, smothering them early to force eight first quarter turnovers on their way to an initial advantage of 11-0, with that run being snapped by a made three from Mitchell’s Anna Sowders.
Those takeaways created some nice looks for the Commodores, who were able to knock them down, shooting a steady 53% from the floor in the period. Mitchell managed to best them in that regard, shooting an even better 60%, but the biggest difference was the number of attempts.
Perry Central managed to put up 15 shots, compared to just five for the Bluejackets, who struggled to advance the ball beyond half court to initiate their offense against the Commodores’ persisant defense.
“They’re really well coached. They’ve got a lot of athletes out there, and they made us make plays and we just we struggled with that at times. We’ve got to work on being in the right spots and simple fundamentals,” said Mitchell head coach Dakota Brasher.
“Turnovers definitely bothered us. They controlled the pace on that end, so credit to them.”
The Bluejackets managed to end the quarter trailing by just 10 after generating and knocking down a couple more open looks, but many of those same struggles persisted throughout the evening.
To make matters worse, Perry Central’s Masen Labhart caught fire in the second, scoring 12 points in the period and concluding the half with 14 total, topping Mitchell’s first-half output of 13 points by herself.
A running clock was initiated in the third after the Commodores begin the quarter on a 13-0 run, breaching the IHSAA 35-point threshold with the score at 48-13.
Coming off a tough night, Brasher said the Bluejackets will be using the experience to continue to improve, which is their top priority given the team’s young roster primarily comprised of freshmen and sophomore players.
“We just have to keep getting better. “We’re not focused on the team that’s across from us right now. We’re really just working on getting better day in and day out,” he said. “It wasn’t the result we wanted, but we saw some good things too that we can build on.”
Among those positives were the team’s communication and ability to generate open looks by getting the ball inside.
“We had some really good paint touches, especially in the first half, where we kicked it out to the shooters and played the style we wanted,” said Brasher. “We had some good transition looks. We had good defensive possessions at times. I do think it’s the best game that we’ve communicated. We still have to work on being in the right positions, especially defensively. Tonight, defensively, I think we took a step back.
Perry Central’s Bryn Yeager led all scorers on the night with 20 points to go along with her 18 rebounds. Labhart was just behind her, scoring 18.
For Mitchell, Sowders was the team’s top scorer with eight points. Leighann Thompson and Gracie Kohlhaas both contributed four.
Next up for the Bluejackets is a Lawrence County clash with Bedford North-Lawrence, a matchup that has historically been a tough one for Mitchell, with the Stars claiming the last 14 matchups by an average of 45 points.
Brasher said Mitchell is not going into the matchup focused on Bedford or what they’re capable of, but rather themselves and how they can improve from game-to-game.
“We’re not focused on opponents right now. We’re focused on ourselves and how to make us better. What can we do to get better,” he said. “They’re a great opponent, a storied school. Right now, we’re focused on us, and we’re not focused on on anybody else but us.”
