Mitchell girls basketball coach Brock Ehler won’t argue much about the basketball tradition at his school in the panhandle.
So far out there — north west of Scottsbluff — that you can only find two stops between there and Wyoming. But that’s ok, you can play hoops anywhere with a few hard working kids, two baskets and a ball.
His Tigers are out to prove that.
Mitchell has been to the girls state basketball just four times, including last year. Have never won a game. Even the boys have only won a single game at the state tournament and that came in the 1940s.
“We ran into a really good team,” Ehler said of the 67-27 loss to Lincoln Christian last year in the first round for the Class C-1 tournament. “And, we didn’t play very well either. We were a little tentative. But, it has driven our girls this year.”
Ehler has nearly everyone back and just two seniors on this team that improved to 13-1 with their 67-28 win over Bridgeport on Saturday. They are ranked sixth in a loaded Class C-1 that features three teams in the Omaha World-Herald rankings.
They are making a strong case for “best of the west” with wins over all the Class B panhandle teams, including handing Sidney their only loss in the season opening Western Conference tournament. It was in the finals against undefeated Sterling, CO that the Tigers suffered their only set back.
Ehler has a group of athletes have seen success and are intent on continuing it. The Lady Tigers were seventh at the Class C state track meet last spring and many are now playing a crucial role on the basketball especially seniors Celeste Cardona and Madi Watson.
Cardona — a state cross country champion — does a little bit of everything. She averages 6.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.3 assists per contest. “She’s 5-7, but she plays about 5-11,” her coach said.
“Her and Madi really doing a good job of leading our younger players. They are competitive. They do all the little things well — play defense, screening, rebounding. And they bring that to practice every day.”
The Tigers get most of their scoring punch from junior Jori Peters outside and sophomore Keyana Wilfred inside. Peters, the Class C 800 meter champ last spring, puts in 14 points and leads the team at 4.4 assists and 3.0 steals per contest.
“She is a Tasmanian devil,” Ehler said. “She is kind of the ringleader. When she talks the girls listen.”
Wilfred is a 6-3 sophomore who has controlled the paint and is a defensive presence at the hoop. She leads the team with per game averages of 17.1 points and 7.8 rebounds.
“She really is demanding the ball a little bit more,” Ehler said. “And, she is getting is more offensive rebounds per game than defensive, so she has really given us some extra possessions.”
As the stretch part of the season hits, Ehler likes where his team is at. Just six regular season games remain – including a rematch with Class B, No. 8 Sidney – and the Western Trails Conference tournament.
“We still have some good teams that we have to play,” Ehler said. “We feel like we are improving and ready to play our best basketball here as the season moves on.”
The teams in the panhandle already know about. Mitchell, now, is intent on letting the rest of the state know they play basketball out here as well.
A Better Place
We’d all do well to have a listen and watch to Kearney basketball coach Drake Beranek addressing his team after a win on Friday night over Lincoln Southeast.
Earlier in the day, the Bearcats had attended the funeral of classmate McKenna Johnson who was a member of the Bearcat softball team and the state champion track team last spring.
“Make the world a better place,” Beranek implores his team. We’d all do well to listen.
Oh, and look, the Bearcats are heating up in the gym, too. They are ranked 8th in Class A and 10th in the all class ranking by the Omaha World-Herald.
