The Wildcats withstood multiple rallies and comeback attempts by the Mounties to take over sole possession of first place in the Firelands Conference.
NEW LONDON - It didn't even cross New London senior Raeann Mitchell's mind that Saturday's Firelands Conference clash with Mapleton was where she tore her ACL a year prior.
"I hadn't really thought much about it until my dad mentioned it earlier in the day," she said. "With it being such a big game, I was trying to focus on what our goals were for it ... my emotions were very high."
And were it not for the leg brace, you'd never have guessed she was just shy of a year removed from reconstructive surgery the way Mitchell was diving for loose balls and never shying away from contact in a physical 51-40 win over the Mounties.
"I was definitely going as hard as I could today, my dad said maybe even a little too hard," Mitchell said. "I think I was just so determined to win that I gave all my effort on the floor. The whole team gave all their effort today and we couldn’t have asked for more."
She scored just twice in the game for five points, but no bucket was bigger than her corner 3 late in the fourth to effectively seal the win for the Wildcats.
"I was relieved after hitting that shot, it gave us the boost that we needed to finish the game," Mitchell said.
And it led to her dad, coach Eric Mitchell, giving classmate Pailee Wilson — whose 3-point attempt on the previous possession was off the mark — a hard time in the locker room.
"I joked with Pailee afterwards because I want my girls to shoot it, and she's not afraid to shoot," coach Mithcell said. "But when she shot hers I was like — I don't know if we wanted that one — but she said I tell them to shoot, which I do. But Raeann's 3 there at the end was so big for us, and Pailee to knock down free throws late to seal it put a stamp on it.
"These girls have been in these situations before and to step up in these moments, they live for this. It's fun to be the guy on the sideline that tried to put them in a position to go out there and get it done."
And having played teams like Huron, Colonel Crawford, Norwalk, Wynford, and Margaretta to open the season helped prepare New London for games just like this.
"We knew it was gonna be a slugfest, that's one hell of a team and Matt (Hess) does a great job with a good group of girls," coach Mitchell said. "We swung first and we hit first, that start set the tone for us. I would have loved to just carry it out, but I knew that was too good of a team over there and they made a run that we sustained. Then we made a little run, they made another, and that's just basketball — it's a game of runs."
He leaned heavily on his senior bigs, 5-foot-11 Gracie Thomas and 6-foot-1 Pailee Wilson, because of the mismatch advantage the Wildcats had over the Mounties. Thomas led the way with 15 points, Wilson added 14, while 5-foot-10 senior Valery Henry had seven of her 10 in the fourth quarter including 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
"But for us to build that lead and them fight back, but never take the lead ... I think with the experience I have, I played five seniors dang near the whole entire game. I thought Addison Yetter (2 points) came in and did a tremendous job off the bench, she scored that bucket late there in the third and I don't think she realized how big it was because we were just in a funk.
"They didn't really have an answer for our inside game, so I thought rebounding and aggressiveness on the boards was huge for us today. I'm going to use my size, I'm old school. Coach (Steve) Gray always said — you're old school, you play inside out — and I always will. If I have girls that size and I don't utilize them, I need fired. "
Free throws helped New London secure the win, but they also thwarted Mapleton's comeback attempts as the Mounties were just 6-of-16 from the line in the second half missing six consecutive at one point in the third quarter.
"We had some missed opportunities at the free throw line, but I was proud of the way we bounced back," Mapleton coach Matt Hess said. "It may have been 11-0 to start to the game, so to spot them 11 and then fight back there, I can't question or be discouraged about our effort. We just didn't execute when we needed to and gave up a few too many easy buckets at the other end. That's a great team and they're well-coached, they've won 35-straight conference games for a reason."
It was a letdown for the Mounties who came in red hot with just one loss to a Norwayne team that returned almost everyone from last year's state runner-up finish. Sophomore Addison Hess led with 14 points, senior Audrey Hellickson added 11, junior Emilee Beecher eight.
"We put a lot of mental and physical effort into trying to put forth our best team today, unfortunately they were the better team," coach Hess said. "So they're a little discouraged right now, which is a good thing because it shows they care. But we're gonna have to have a short memory because we go back to conference games here in two or three days with with Crestview."
That's an opponent both teams have their eye on next week as the Cougars host Mapleton on Tuesday and then New London on Thursday. After that, they'll have a date in early February circled several times.
"We gotta play Crestview who's playing well, but then turn around and go through these teams again," coach Mithcell said. "The good thing is we're at home in a lot of them until the end of the season when we go to Mapleton and do this battle again."
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This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: New London gains control of Firelands Conference in win over Mapleton
Category: General Sports
