The Mitchell Tigers could be forgiven if they scowl at the name of Reader, McCloud or Klinkhammer.

In the seventh place finale to last weekend’s Western Conference Invitational, Tori Reader almost single handedly gave the Longhorns a comfortable lead from the beginning. Barely two minutes into the game, her lay up off an inbound pass put Kimball up 6-0. Moments later she drove through a little daylight in the Tigers’ defense, making the score 8-0. Then she was fouled in the act of rebounding, dropping two more from the line. Before the quarter ended, Kimball’s center hit a jumper and another free-throw, giving the Longhorns a 13-4 advantage.

They never looked back.

“How badly I played yesterday really motivated me to try harder,” she explained. The Longhorns opened with successive losses to Gering and Torrington, admittedly strong opponents.

“She really stepped up,” Longhorns’ coach Ken Smith reported. “She had struggled at the post in the early games.”

Mitchell tried to counter with an up tempo attack, looking for fast break opportunities. Each time they pushed the ball down court in the early going, however, Annie McCloud was there to force them to step back and reconsider.

“We knew they’d come out with intensity,” McCloud said. “I think we did well.”

Indeed, Mitchell put their first points on the board at 5:18 in the opening frame and didn’t advance the lights again for another five minutes. The Longhorns broke their momentum anytime the Tigers threatened and rarely allowed a clean shot in the early going.

But they almost allowed Mitchell back within striking distance. Toward the half the Tigers made adjustments, put more pressure on Reader, spread the floor and were then able to pick up the pace. Chalsey and Andee Grentz cut the deficit to single digits midway through the period.

“We played tired,” Smith admitted, pointing out his squad fought through four games over a five day span, including the exhibition against Garden County.

But the threat dissipated. A few minutes into the third quarter Taylor Wismer took a Reader kickout and hit from beyond the arc, making the score 32-19. From there, it was Klinkhammer time.

Darbi Klinkhammer stole three Mitchell passes in just over a minute in a wild spree that also saw her score from the line. She fueled several Kimball breaks. And as the period wound down, she canceled a Chalsey Grentz lay up with one of her own.

“We have really good pass anticipation,” Reader pointed out.

Meanwhile young Jessica Hanks was almost flawless from the line, ensuring the Longhorns’ cushion every time Mitchell tried to break the momentum with a deliberate foul.

“It’s big,” Smith said of the team’s first win of the season, coming off of two disappointing outings. “It shows a lot of character.”

For McCloud, the W had a more direct application.

“It showed Mitchell we’re still above them,” she said.