'Stangs outlast Berthoud 64-57 in OT in 4A final 4

 

Mullen’s girls won their Class 4A final four game on Thursday at the Denver Coliseum.

But you may not know that because you probably weren’t there.

In arguably the first of the most-bizarre games in nearly a century of Colorado play, the Mustangs outlasted Berthoud 64-57 in overtime to advance to Saturday’s championship, provided there will be one, as worldwide change by the hour has been the theme for approximately a week.

At a sparsely attended Denver Coliseum, and while the MLB, NHL, NBA, all levels of college and likewise on the scholastic level decided to suspend play indefinitely in the face of the spread of COVID-19, now a pandemic, the Mustangs and the rest of the in-state teams still alive play on … but only with essential school personnel, media and four friends each chosen by players.

“It was a little weird,” Mustangs junior Abby Webster said, “a little spooky. But our parents were great cheerleaders.”

But not too weird for Mullen to handle … Indeed, the Mustangs, now 21-7, certainly got all they wanted from Berthoud and then some, as they were guilty of unusual turnovers and missing layups that reached into double digits, but that was before Megan Pohs took over the game.

The junior, who has battled a nagging hamstring injury since the holiday break, went for 30 points, 16 in the second half, 10 of Mullen’s 12 in the extra session.

“If Megan Pohs isn’t the 4A player of the year, then there should not be one,” Mustangs coach Frank Cawley insisted.

In OT, Pohs was 4-of-4 on free throws and stole the inbounds pass on the Spartans’ last gasp.

And, of course, she made the layup.

Basically, Mullen, which has won eight of its past nine postseason games, had rolled to date in the 2020 playoffs, but never blinked at the resilience of the Spartans, who ended 24-3.

“I like it a lot more that way, it gets our nerves going,” Pohs said. “We knew they would make runs, the coach told us, but how we would react to them was how the game would go … and I think we handled them pretty good.”

Throughout regulation, Berthoud had Mullen chasing, and even when the Mustangs regrouped, the Spartans also responded. In fact, Berthoud held the largest lead of the game, 37-30 with 3:00 to go in the third quarter.

“It wasn’t easy,” Cawley said. “(The Spartans) were very well prepared.

“(But) we missed so many bunnies and our shots just weren’t falling (20-of-51 for the game, 7-of-26 on 3-pointers). And you know what – those types of things happen and good teams battle through them, and we did with defense and the rebounding was better in the second half.”

Each team had chance in the final seconds of regulation before Pohs did her thing.

“She said, ‘Here, get on my back,’” Cawley said.

The coach called it “a team win,” and it seemed everyone had a hand, especially on defense. Junior Imani Perez had nine points and 10 rebounds. Haley Van Horn, Gracie Gallegos, Elaina Martinez, Kilah Freelon and Jessica Oates-Stamm saw time and contributed in some fashion.

Despite everything else going on, Mullen has a championship game to play, Saturday at noon.

The excitement and opportunity didn’t get lost.

“We very excited about going back,” Pohs said. “We’re glad to be going back.”

Said Webster: “It’s amazing. We can’t wait.”

 

Mullen – Pohs 7 11-12 30, Martinez 1 0-0 3, Van Horn 1 0-0 2, Perez 4 1-4 9, Gallegos 1 2-2 4, Dominguez 0 0-0 0, Oates-Stamm 0 0-0 0, Webster 4 3-5 12, Freelon 2 0-0 4. Totals 20 17-24 64.

Berthoud – Davidson 1 0-0 2, Dennison 0 0-0 0, Cavey 2 1-2 5, Fowler 6 8-13 21, Padilla 5 2-2 14, Rennaker 0 0-0 0, Carr 0 0-0 0, Barcewski 1 4-6 6, Selland 2 5-7 9. Totals 17 20-30 57.

3-pt. goals – Pohs 5, Martinez, Webster; Padilla 2, Fowler. Fouled out – Cavey.