NICEVILLE — Michaela Mitchell doesn’t go through a deliberately long free throw routine at practice, just 10 shots. That’s it. She’ll normally make either nine or all of them.
Then she’s good to go.
Evidently that’s all she needs to do at the moment. Mitchell buried five of six free throws in a span of six seconds late in the fourth quarter to seal up a 53-44 Niceville win over Crestview on Monday
The Eagles (7-3, 3-0) remained undefeated in District 1-7A while handing Crestview (3-4, 1-1) its first of the season.
When Crestview took a lead, however brief, Niceville responded in kind, whether it be a Mitchell jump shot or Jessie Day basket or Amanda Wilson or Elise Stuart field goal. With that spread effort in mind, at no point after midway through the second quarter did Crestview hold a lead.
Stuart buried a 3-pointer to break a 20-20 tie, providing the spark to a 12-6 run to close the half and put the Eagles up 32-26, and the closest Crestview would come from there would be four points.
Crestview’s Christa Johnson scored seven of her team-high 13 points in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t quite enough.
Bulldogs’ Jensis Coleman, Tiara Payne, and Johnson went a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line in the final frame, but it wasn’t quite enough.
“They don’t quit,” Crestview coach Kathy Combest said. “They never quit.”
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Mitchell leads Eagles past Bulldogs