'Stangs fall in home opener
Mullen handled 66-41 by Regis Jesuit, slides to 6-6 on the season.
They had played in Castle Rock, Boulder, Phoenix and Monument, but not at home, sweet home for nearly a half of the 2022-23 regular season.
So forgive Mullen’s Mustangs for being out of sorts on Wednesday night in a 66-41 loss to parochial-rival Regis Jesuit in Class 6A nonleague at Hutchison Fieldhouse.
The home surroundings in a game that actually counted for the first time in nearly 11 months may have seemed unusual for the four-time-defending Colorado champions who are sporting a new look at the top and have a roster almost exclusively consisting of underclassmen.
“We had a tendency to start slow and today we didn’t, so we’re progressing, making small adjustments we need to make,” first year head coach Tonia Jones said. “And we have to finish. Defensively, we’re still making strides, but I’m proud of the effort our girls made. We have to work on our communication.”
Now 6-6, Mullen was game from the outset, but had trouble getting shots to fall, struggled a bit with turnovers and had some issues rebounding and in transition.
The more-experienced Raiders also fared better from the perimeter, canning nine 3-pointers.
A year ago, the Mustangs’ victory in the series halted an eight-game losing streak.
Junior Allison Schwertner led Mullen with 16 points. Tatum Jones added 11.
The Mustangs will host Rocky Mountain in nonleague on Saturday, 4 p.m., before heading into the Centennial League next week.
“We’re young,” Coach Jones said. “It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish, I keep telling them.”
REGIS JESUIT 66, MULLEN 41
Regis Jesuit 21 18 13 14 -- 66
Mullen 9 13 9 10 -- 41
Regis Jesuit – Rumpf 0 1-2 1, Watts 9 0-0 20 , Belibi 7 4-4 21, Meyer 4 1-2 13, Greene 3 0-0 6, Hodges 2 1-1 5, Albrecht-Reed 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 7-9 66.
Mullen – Garcia 0 0-0 0, Arangua-Egbert 0 4-4 4, Schwertner 7 0-0 16, Wood 1 1-2 4, Jones 4 3-3 11, Thomas 0 0-0 0, Johnson 1 0-0 3, Zienkewicz 0 0-0 0, Pelster 1 0-0 3, Archibald 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 8-9 41.
3-pt. goals – Meyer 4, Belibi 3, Watts 2; Schwertner 2, Johnson, Pelster, Wood.
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