By Anvil Welch

awelch@joplinglobe.com

Jessica Mitchell is following in the footsteps of her mom in the upcoming Lions District 26-E All-Star Basketball Twin Classic.

The Southwest 6-footer will be a member of the South in the game scheduled for 6 p.m. on June 7 in Joplin at Missouri Southern State University.

The boys game matching graduating seniors will follow in the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.

Bill Baxley, game chairman, and Joyce Hughes, both members of the Seligman Lions Club, came up with 40 players, plus alternates, for the annual competition between the North and South in 40-minute games.

Jessica Mitchell’s mom, Lisa (formerly Alley), actually played in an all-star game in 1978 that was sponsored by The Joplin Globe.

“I believe our uniforms were red and white ... because I kept mine for a long time,” Lisa Mitchell said with a laugh on Saturday. “I don’t even remember whether our team won or lost.”

Lisa, a forward, continued her basketball career at Crowder College of Neosho and Missouri Southern.

Her husband, Charlie, a bit older, also prepped at Southwest and played at Crowder.

Jessica signed earlier this month to join Tina Robbins’ program at Crowder.

Jessica Mitchell left no doubt that earning a berth in the Lions event was important to her.

“I knew some of the girls that were on the team last year,” she said. “One of my goals was to get picked for that team. I’m excited about it.”

Southwest coach Kenny Ferguson said Mitchell will be all right at whatever Crowder wants her to do.

“She was versatile. She led our team (15-8 overall, 7-3 in the Ozark 7 Conference) in scoring and rebounding with respective averages of 16 and eight,” Ferguson said. “She also was a solid defender who guarded the best opposing player. She took pride in it.”