If the Mitchell Mustangs were riding high off their 56-34 takedown of the Gaither Cowboys last Saturday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. Mitchell's tough 57-37 defeat to Springstead on Wednesday might stick with them for a while. Mitchell was in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 37-16.
Mitchell lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Tahlia Vazquez, who scored 12 points along with nine rebounds. Those 12 points set a new season-high mark for her. Sydney Reinhart was another key contributor, scoring six points along with five rebounds.
Even though they lost, Mitchell were smashing the offensive glass and finished the game with 19 offensive rebounds. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Springstead only pulled down ten offensive rebounds.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Springstead to victory, but perhaps none more so than Malanie Francis, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 19 rebounds. Francis is absolutely dominating the rebound category: she's posted at least eight every time she's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was J'ziyah Munford, who scored 13 points along with seven rebounds and five steals.
Mitchell's loss dropped their record down to 9-5. As for Springstead, the victory (which was their seventh in a row) raised their record to 11-3.
Mitchell won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Gulf at 7:30 p.m. on January 11th. Gulf is hoping to put an end to a four-game streak of away losses. As for Springstead, they will head out on the road to face off against Crystal River at 8:00 p.m. on Friday. Crystal River will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Florida Rankings (they are ranked 418th, while Springstead is ranked 92nd).
