Stout Mitchell girls defense ready to lead team into Class AA postseason

Feb. 29—MITCHELL — Having been the case for several years, the Mitchell High School girls basketball team knows they're a small group, with only three players on the roster this season listed 5-foot-9 or taller.

Rather than dwell about playing teams with more imposing figures, the Kernels instead focus on intensifying their defense, producing results.

Heading into its SoDak 16 game against Yankton, Mitchell has allowed on average 43 points per game, the sixth-best among all Class AA girls teams. The Kernels have also held three of the other top-five teams in the Class AA seed-point standings under their season scoring average during their matchups.

The determination displayed on the court during games on the defensive side stems from practice, showcasing their intensity even during drills to sharpen their skills.

"The kids like doing the shell drill," Kernels head coach Dave Brooks explained. "They get after each other. It's 10 minutes that are kind of like war but when they get done, they become teammates again. That's the way they are, and they take pride in playing good defense."

While strides have been made in improving the team's shell and man defense, much of the Kernels' success on that side of the ball is from locking in their modified zone defense and disrupting teams in transition. Each member of the starting five has recorded at least 23 steals this season, as Mitchell averages 12.1 steals per game.

Coming up with steals and loose balls or creating turnovers has shown to be a momentum builder for the Kernels at various points in the season. It comes from the improvement of the younger players reading what the opposing team's going to do offensively, while also trying to pinpoint areas of vulnerability.

"It's just focusing on picking out what players are not worse at but not their strong suit," said junior Carsyn Weich on how she reads teams on defense. "Focusing on those things and trying to push them to do those things is what I get the most out of playing defense on those tough players."

Weich has also found herself assigned to guard the best perimeter players on the opposing teams in a rotation with Lauren Van Overschelde and Makenzie Peterson. Receiving those assignments doesn't faze her, and also exemplifies one of the team's philosophies.

"Carsyn lately is kind of (slated) to get their toughest offensive guard and she rises up," Brooks said. "But we always tell the kids if they score on us, they don't score on any one person. So if she takes chances, we know that there's help defensively back there."

Those chances have turned into takeaways for Weich, who's third on the Kernels averaging 2.3 steals per game, behind only Addie Siemsen (2.45) and Sawyer Stoebner (3.6).

While being able to read what the offense is going to do has allowed Mitchell to create chances on the other end of the floor, it ultimately comes down to the players getting into position to take advantage of mistakes from the opponent, or collapsing in the passing lanes in hopes of intercepting the basketball.

As steals potentially lead to scoring opportunities in transition, coming up with the ball fires up the Kernels on the bench and on the floor.

"It's a really big part of our game," sophomore Addie Siemsen said about positioning on the floor. "Our defense leads to quick baskets or pushing the pace (of the opponents), so emphasizing on good defense and good looks (at the hoop) is what we've been working on ... and how we get all our energy from."

The Kernels' defense has helped them achieve an 18-2 record and the No. 2 overall seed for the Class AA playoffs this season. Last season, Mitchell prominently pulled off an upset as the No. 12 seed over Brandon Valley.

While the opponent and location of the game have changed from last year, as Mitchell hosts Yankton on Friday, Mar. 1, at the Corn Palace, the mentality of the team heading in remains the same.

"We have the same mentality as last year," Weich said. "We go out, use the strengths that we're given, and just do what you can do out on the floor."