In a game featuring two teams coming off of holiday tournament titles, Atholton's visit to Oakland Mills on Thursday night had the makings of a marquee showdown.
The visiting Raiders rose to the challenge, cruising past an uncharacteristically flat Scorpions team, 62-37.
"Everyone definitely stepped up to the plate. We had everyone scoring, and everyone just fighting," said Mitchell, who scored a game-high 19 points. "We needed everyone to step up."
The Raiders (6-1, 8-1) will need to keep fighting, because all of their games moving forward will be on the road as the Atholton gym is renovated.
"This county is very competitive and every game is going to be a challenge and you just have to come ready to play," coach Julia Reynold said.
The Raiders have now won six games in a row, including victories over Thomas Johnson and Springbrook to win the Springbrook tournament on Dec. 29 and 30. Previously undefeated Mt. Hebron, the only team to beat Atholton this season, lost to Centennial on Wednesday night to pull Atholton and Howard into a tie for first place in Howard County.
"Being tied for first is definitely exciting, but we've just got to know that we can't let loose and we just have to keep having the intensity that we have and just keep pushing," said Mitchell, who earned all-tournament honors at Springbrook.
Reynold said that even though her team is riding a hot streak, continued success will require a solid gameplan and contributions from the bench.
"We had a lot of unforced turnovers to start the first half, so once we minimized that we tried to push the tempo and make good, smart passes," she said. "Different people step up each night ... different people were contributing."
Junior Caitlyn Burmester stepped up to score 11 points. Junior Meaghan Quinn came off of the bench to score eight points in a row during one stretch, and added several steals. Senior Sage Mayhew also put up eight points and led the rebounding charge.
Oakland Mills got a balanced scoring effort from Tori Diggs and Theda Jackson, who scored 14 points each in the loss to account for 75 percent of their team's scoring. Diggs and Jackson were both named to the all-tournament team after the Scorpions won their own holiday invitational on Dec. 27.
"Atholton is a great team and it really came down to they outhustled us," said coach Christina Hewitt, whose team trailed 31-26 at the half. "We went back and forth in the first half and we weren't able to recover in the second half when they made their run ... there were definitely moments, but we have to do some work."
A (6-1): Mitchell 19, Burmester 11, Mayhew 8, Quinn 8, Vanegas 6, Caldwell 4, Jones 4, Hinson 2.
OM (4-3): Diggs 14, Jackson 14, Jones-Carter 5, Davis 2, Mallory 2.
Half: A 31-26