Ridge Dental Tournament: Mountain Home vs DeSoto Central Recap

Preview   While everyone was tuned in to the Arkansas versus Texas game yesterday, Wynne High School hosted the Ridge Dental Basketball Tournament. The tournament featured several in-state schools, but it also featured DeSoto Central High School out of Southaven, Mississippi. The DeSoto Central Lady Jaguars tipped off at 1:30 PM versus the Mountain Home Lady Bombers.   These two teams entered this game as polar opposites of one another. DeSoto Central is coming off a 9-15 season while also going 4-6 in district play. Mountain Home is coming off a 19-8 season, while compiling a conference record of 9-3. The Lady Bombers are expected to be even better this season, especially after returning multiple players who are on college recruiting radars.   Recap   From the opening tip, DeSoto Central was trying to attack the basket, but they were bothered by Mountain Home's length. The Lady Bombers made sure the Lady Jaguars never had a good look on offense, but on that side for the Lady Bombers, they moved the ball around effectively, leading to plenty of high-percentage looks. With a combination of solid post play, extra effort on the offensive glass, and limiting the Lady Jaguars on offense, Mountain Home took off, leading at the half, 32-7. In the second half, the Lady Bombers continued to score at will on the interior, eventually running away with a 61-29 victory. Despite the loss, the Lady Jaguars started to wake up on offense in the second half. They continued to improve in the fourth quarter, after keeping Mountain Home's second unit from extending the solid play from the starters.   Key Performances from Mountain Home Players   I will only talk about Mountain Home players in this article.   The entire Lady Bomber starting lineup had solid games. Some scored better than others, but in the end, each one of these players had an impact on the game, and did something to provide to the victory.    In my preseason article that covered 2026 5A bigs, [player_tooltip player_id='1060845' first='Livi' last='Fosness'] was featured, and I was hoping that she would start alongside [player_tooltip player_id='875498' first='Anna' last='McCarn']. Fosness and McCarn were, in fact, the two starters in the Lady Bomber frontcourt, and they made sure to make their mark on the game.   Fosness was the leading scorer in this game, finishing with 16 points. She was nearly unstoppable in the paint, using her stature to gain position against the defenders in the post, and finishing through heavy contact. Fosness took on the contact very well, and when she was rewarded with free throws, she nailed all of them, going 6 for 6. Her post offense was not just on the scoring front, as she grabbed three offensive rebounds, which accounted for 75% of her total rebounds. Fosness was also running in transition, where she was ready for a pass or to get a putback.   On defense, Fosness contested shots well, making it difficult for the Lady Jaguars to find consistency in the paint. She was able to neutralize the opposition's post players, as she would front them and tip away any entry pass.   [player_tooltip player_id='1060845' first='Livi' last='Fosness'] will continue to feast in the paint, especially in that long Mountain Home frontcourt this season.     [player_tooltip player_id='615194' first='Brooklynn' last='Mitchell'] is a new addition to the Lady Bomber squad after transferring from Harrison High School. In only her second game with Mountain Home, she looked like she belonged, making a statement from the perimeter.   Mitchell was the second leading scorer of the game for Mountain Home, finishing with 14 points. Nine of those points came from the perimeter, as she shot over 50% from the 3-point line. She was a consistent catch-and-shoot threat from outside, and when she got the shot off, her high arch just lofted the ball straight into the hoop. When she was not scoring, she was making solid passes and helping the Lady Bombers move the ball around.   Mitchell made her mark on the glass as well, finishing with six rebounds, two of them from the offensive glass. Her rebounding would trigger the fastbreak and she had plenty of options on offense, usually settling to drive to the basket.   [player_tooltip player_id='615194' first='Brooklynn' last='Mitchell'] looks to be a great addition to the Lady Bomber roster, and she will help elevate that team to new heights in 2024/25.     As anticipated, the Lindenwood commit had a solid game on both sides of the ball. No matter what DeSoto Central threw at her, they were no match for [player_tooltip player_id='875498' first='Anna' last='McCarn'], but she still could have used the ball more.   McCarn made her presence felt in the post on offense. She finished with 10 points and six rebounds, with four of them coming from the offensive backboard. McCarn made a fair amount of her money in the pick-n-roll, where she had good awareness for where the pass would be and when to go up for the layup. Occasionally, on high post-ups, McCarn made some nice passes to her cutting teammates.   Defensively, McCarn is known to fill up the stat sheet with blocks. Yesterday, she only rejected one shot, but she did force the opposition to contort their shot when attempting to shoot over her. McCarn also played solid on-ball defense, even when being switched on to a guard. When this occurred, the opposing guard attempted to take her one-on-one, but McCarn moved her feet well and never gave the opposition a lane to the basket.   [player_tooltip player_id='875498' first='Anna' last='McCarn'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1060845' first='Livi' last='Fosness'] make a great frontcourt duo, and their length will cause problems for a lot of teams this season.     [player_tooltip player_id='408136' first='Laykin' last='Moore'] did not score in bunches, but she did not need to. Moore made plays all over the court, and on both sides of the ball. She made plenty of winning plays, and was a major reason why they had so much offensive efficiency.   Mountain Home does not necessarily have one primary ball handler. Mitchell and [player_tooltip player_id='876331' first='Jayla' last='Yonkers'] are the two guards and they bring the ball up the court most of the time, but Moore shows why she is another solid distributor. Moore finished with only two assists, but she was always passing the ball and directing the offense. She was making nice passes in the pick-n-roll, feeding the post, and hitting the open shooters.   Outside of being a point-forward, Moore was able to score the ball. She did have a nice drive to the basket in transition, where she used a believable pump fake to make the defender fly by. Moore was patient, letting the defender by before finishing off the play. Moore also found herself at the free throw line, going 4 for 4 on the afternoon.   [player_tooltip player_id='408136' first='Laykin' last='Moore'] will have higher scoring games this season, but I would not be surprised if she continued to showcase her solid offensive versatility.     [player_tooltip player_id='876331' first='Jayla' last='Yonkers'] is one of the most complete scorers in the state, but she had trouble finding the bottom of the net against DeSoto Central. However, Yonkers knew that to have an impact on the game, she needed to do other things.   Yonkers played well on the defensive end. She fought hard to get around screens, recovering quickly. She played with active hands, deflecting multiple passes in the first half, but later picking up two steals in the second half.   Like I mentioned, Yonkers was not scoring well, but her confidence never wavered, as she consistently raised up for pull-up mid-range jumpers and drove to the basket. Yonkers showed that she is comfortable finishing with both hands, and regardless of who is on her, she keeps her dribble alive and can get to any spot on the floor she wants. She also spots up well from 3-point range and can make solid passes, recording two assists and nailing a triple on the afternoon.   [player_tooltip player_id='876331' first='Jayla' last='Yonkers'] will have plenty of chances to have big scoring outings, but this game against a tough out-of-state opponent showcased how she can make an impact in other aspects of the game.    In Review   Mountain Home played well during the Ridge Dental Basketball Tournament, beating DeSoto Central on Saturday and El Dorado High School on Friday.   The Lady Bombers showed everyone that this is a very scary team in the 5A West. Though they are up against tough opponents, they automatically have the best length, the best frontcourt, and some of the best guards in the 5A classification. For DeSoto Central, they showed the 7A Region 1 that if they can get some momentum on offense, they can go on a run like they did in the fourth quarter of this game. They do not back down, fighting until the final whistle. The Lady Jaguars can be very dangerous if they continue to attack the basket and force multiple turnovers with a devastating press.

Preview