2-8 Winter Roundup
Girls hoops takes a thriller; boys hoops falls to Eaglecrest; 4A girls swim and dive prelims.
It may have taken a while for Mullen’s younger players (freshmen and other first-timers getting varsity minutes) to make a significant impact on the 2022-23 season, but it happened on Wednesday night.
Behind major contributions from freshman Chloe Pelster and Sofia Zienkewicz, the team’s lone senior, the Mustangs scratched, clawed and fought their way past Eaglecrest 50-47 in overtime in the Centennial League at Hutchison Fieldhouse.
Mullen, a fourt-time-defending Class 4A champion, moved to 9-11 overall, 3-4 in the loop. It also sits at No. 28 in the RPI qualifying for the 32-team 6A playoff bracket.
Head coach Tonia Jones said Pelster “stepped up … she and Sofia were players of the game.”
A freshman point guard, Pelster saw by far her most varsity minutes and took advantage – her speed and ball-handling stabilized the Mullen offensive attack out front and she repeatedly was the difference in Mullen beating the Eaglecrest press. She also made two key free throws with 28 seconds to play in the extra session.
As for Zienkewicz, she again battled inside and topped the team in scoring with a career-high 16 points. Allison Schwertner added 11 points and Tatum Jones contributed 10 as the Mustangs were effective in getting the ball inside the key against the Raptors defense and down low for scoring and rebounding opportunities.
“We needed this, it keeps us alive,” Coach Jones said, underlining that only Schwertner had entered this season with any varsity minutes that mattered. “Nobody else, except her, but that’s OK.”
The Mustangs also held Eaglecrest to just one basket in the first quarter and survived 13-of-25 free-throw shooting.
MULLEN 50, EAGLECREST 47 OT
Eaglecrest 5 11 7 19 5 -- 47
Mullen 10 4 18 10 8 -- 50
Eaglecrest – Ramiro 3 1-3 9, Roffle 0 6-8 6, Perkins 1 0-0 3, McKenzie 2 6-6 12, Farbes 1 0-0 2, Soto 3 0-0 6, Bickerstaff 0 0-0 0, Jones 4 0-0 9. Totals 14 13-17 47.
Mullen -- Zienkewicz 4 8-11 16, Thomas 1 0-4 2, Schwertner 4 3-7 11, Wood 1 0-0 2, Jones 5 0-1 10, Pelster 1 2-2 4, Johnson 0 0-0 0, Archibald 0 0-0 0, Kerschen 2 0-0 5. Totals 18 13-25 47.
3-pt. goals – Ramiro 2, McKenzie 2, Jones, Perkins; Kerschen. Fouled out – Roffle, Soto.
Boys Basketball
The visiting Raptors gradually pulled away over the final three quarters to down the Mustangs at The Hutch.
Mullen is 8-12 overall, 2-5 in the Centennial.
The Mustangs trailed only 19-18 after 8 minutes before Eaglecrest’s superior athleticism led to a series of runs.
Jordan Leslie led Mullen with 27 points. Anderson Brendle added 15.
EAGLECREST 85, MULLEN 66
Eaglecrest 19 21 17 28 -- 85
Mullen 18 14 11 23 – 66
Eaglecrest – King 2 0-1 4, Taylor 6 0-2 12, Brown 12 2-3 31, Heflin 6 0-0 13, Ray 7 1-2 15, Noone 1 0-1 2, Chapa 0 0-0 0, Gallegos 3 0-0 6, Roberts 1 0-0 2, Legette 0 0-0 0. Totals 38 3-9 85.
Mullen – Leslie 11 4-4 27, Brendle 5 2-2 15, Stewart 3 0-0 6, Jones 1 0-0 3, Aceves 2 1-2 5, Castillo 0 2-2 2, Roth 0 0-0 0, Jerez 4 0-0 8, DePizzol 0 0-0 0, Medina 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 9-10 66.
3-pt. goals – Brown 5, Heflin; Brendle 3, Jones, Leslie.
Hoop Notes
--- The final three games for each Centennial League team in the regular season will be in the form of a season-ending tournament, brackets to be released on Thursday.
Standings entering the tournament (overall and league marks): Boys – 1, Grandview 13-7, 6-1; 2, Eaglecrest 12-8, 5-2 and Smoky Hill 16-4, 5-2; 4. Arapahoe 10-10, 3-4; 5. Cherry Creek 8-10, 2-4 and Cherokee Trail 7-12, 2-4; 7. Overland 7-13, 2-5 and Mullen 8-12, 2-5.
Girls – 1. Cherry Creek 17-3, 7-0; 2. Arapahoe 13-6, 5-2 and Cherokee Trail 17-2, 5-2; 4. Grandview 12-8, 4-3; 5. Mullen 9-11, 3-4 and Eaglecrest 13-7, 3-4; 7. Overland 11-9, 1-6; and 8. Smoky Hill 2-17, 0-7.
---Prior to the girls game, Zienkewicz was honored on Senior Night as was girls team manager Taha Douhaj. Coach Jones said Douhaj took over the position during the season “and brought us a lot of energy.”
--- At halftime of the boys game on Wednesday, there was an exhibition between second-graders on the Green Mountain Rams that delighted the crowd.
Girls Swimming and Diving
In Thornton at the VMAC, Mullen competed in the preliminaries at the 4A Championships.
The Mustangs 200-yard medley relay team of Sally Kohara, Brigid Anderson, Shannon McCarthy and Genessa Capra was 21st in 2 minutes, 1.72 seconds.
Annie Kozlevchar was 27th in the 500 freestyle, 5:45.18.
McCarthy, Capra, Claire McCain and Kozlevchar were 21st in the 200 freestyle relay, 1:48.97.
And Kohara, Capra, Kozlevchar and McCarthy were 22nd in the 400 freestyle relay, 3:57.29.
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