SIOUX FALLS — Despite a big game from Sawyer Stoebner, the Mitchell girls fell to Sioux Falls Washington on the road Tuesday.
Stoebner led all scorers with 16 points and picked up another double-double with 11 rebounds, but a balanced scoring attack from the Class AA second-ranked Warriors helped propel them to a 52-39 win.
Stoebner scored seven of Mitchell’s nine points in the second quarter scored and all seven fourth-quarter points for Mitchell, with the Warriors changing to a box-and-one defense, focusing on keeping the ball out of Stoebner’s hands toward the end of the fourth quarter.
However, Washington was able to consistently pull down offensive rebounds and get second-chance points. In the first half, the Warriors had 11 offensive boards and forced 12 Kernel turnovers.
Elsewhere for Mitchell, Lauren Van Overschelde had eight points and Delena Henkel had four points. For Washington, Grace Peterson had 11 points and Hannah Harpe had 10.
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Mitchell opened the game up with a 6-1 lead off a pair of 3-pointers from Addie Siemsen and Carsyn Weich, but the Kernels trailed 14-11 by the end of the first. By halftime, the Warriors opened up a 25-20 lead and it expanded to a 40-32 advantage after three frames.
Siemsen, Mitchell’s second-leading scorer on the season, exited the game in the third quarter with an apparent injury and did not return.
The loss was Mitchell’s third in a row and dropped the Kernels to 8-9. It also marks the first time the Kernels have been below .500 since Jan. 10, when they were 2-3, and the 39 points marked the first time Mitchell failed to reach 40 points since Jan. 27, against Rapid City Stevens.
Mitchell is back in action on Friday, Feb. 17, at Pierre.
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