Mitchell Lead Eagles

MITCHELL LEADS EAGLES

To not understand how good Atascocita has a chance to be is strange. When you have a team coming back from an Elite 8 run on the backs of sophomores, Rachel Arthur, Lauren Price and Curtyce Knox, along with a junior, Mekala Bell, you would figure once again they would be in the mix. When you add players like Chrishaunna Parker, who two years ago was playing for Nimitz in the State Championship semi-final game as a sophomore, along with Rachel Mitchell, the post ranked in the Top 50 on every major scouting service in the country, along with being listed at 6’7, to count this team out is also strange.

I saw Atascocita play Hightower in a fall league game and they did not look good, however Price was absent and Mitchell got hurt early, plus sometimes you just have days when the teams don’t look their best, last weekend was a good example as many of the top teams in the area and state fell. The knock on Atascocita is they hadn’t played anyone, well the same can be said for many of the teams in the area including a team you better watch out for, Clear Springs, who Atascocita played against Tuesday evening. These two teams started the game with no losses, so the stage was set as another unbeaten would go down.

The game started out with Knox scoring back to back buckets, then later bringing the house down with her patented spin move for a lay-up and before you know it the Eagles were up by double digits. The only thing that kept the Chargers in the game was the fact that Atascocita was in early foul trouble, picking up 8 in first quarter. That, along with Courtney Latham scoring 6 points for Clear Springs, kept the game close as the quarter ended 22-13.

I always point out that the game starts at the one, Knox is one of the top guards in the country in her class, and in the second quarter she had to sit due to foul trouble. That opened the door for Clear Springs to get back into the game and that team has a ton of guards who are capable of going off. Brooke McCarty is only a freshman however she’s right there with top guards in the area and definitely one of the top guards in her class nationally. She is also a kid I dubbed “The Chosen One” a long time ago and behind her, the gap was closed to make it 31-28 at the half.

The third quarter opened with Atascocita ready to blow this thing wide open again as they jumped out on a 9-2 run, however after nipping and tucking at the score, the Chargers Aaliyah Brown scored seven straight to make it 47-44, before two free throws and a lay-up at buzzer by Price ended the quarter with the Eagles up 51-44. In that same quarter, a sleeping giant so to speak had awaken in Mitchell who was phenomenal, in fact this was one of the best performances I have seen from her.

Atascocita opened things up and never looked back in the final quarter as they closed it out 76-58. Mitchell finished the game with 20 points and 8 rebounds, Knox 14 points and 5 steals, Price 11 points and 7 rebounds and Parker 10 points with 6 rebounds. McCarty had 16 points for the Chargers while Brown and Latham scored 13 each. This was a good game for both teams and as much as I like Atascocita, I was pleased with Clear Springs youth for hanging in there which will help them in the long run.