Girls basketball ends title drought
Abby Webster, Iliana Perez cap a magical season for girls basketball, spark a 63-44 spanking of Pueblo South.
Unlikely? Perhaps. Convincing? Without question. And fitting? You can’t imagine.
So Mullen’s 63-44 whipping of Pueblo South on Saturday for the Class 4A Colorado championship left scores of Mustangs and their followers dancing their way out of what had been a very loud Denver Coliseum.
So Mullen’s 63-44 whipping of Pueblo South on Saturday for the Class 4A Colorado championship left scores of Mustangs and their followers dancing their way out of what had been a very loud Denver Coliseum.
An elated group let all of its emotion loose as the final buzzer sounded and followed it with a proud march through an appreciative crowd – sporting some 400 new T-shirts with the slogan ” We Are Mullen” -- in the stands that had been hungry for a crown and seemed pleased that it had further strengthened its hold on third in state annals in team titles (behind Cherry Creek and Cheyenne Mountain).
“This feels even better than I thought it would,” sophomore Abby Webster said afterward while clutching the school’s new trophy.
Webster ignited the separation -- and a 42-point half -- from the Colts with a couple of 3-pointers that even had Mustangs head coach Frank Cawley jumping up and down with his hands in the air, although she wasn’t alone on a day when Mullen rejoined the state’s elite and its supporters gladly joined in the fun.
To wit:
--- The Mustangs, who finished 20-8, won their first girls basketball title since 2006. They ended the season on an eight-game roll and made the Colts (24-4) runners-up for a third straight season.
--- It was the first team championship for the Mustangs over what had been a long 25 sports seasons. The previous Mullen group to take it all? Boys soccer in 2011, also winning in 4A.
--- Somehow Mullen was seeded just 14th in the 4A bracket despite suffering iin-state setbacks only to Cherry Creek and two-time defending 5A champion Grandview (the two were to decide this season’s title) as well as regular power Regis Jesuit, another final-four team. So Mullen had to beat, in order, 4A’s No. 19, 6, 3, 2 and 4 seeds, and travelled some 750 miles for back-to-back rounds the previous week. And, no, no one could remember a No. 14 seed taking it all.
--- Defense? Mullen had lots of it. No playoff team scored more than 45 points against the Mustangs. “You know, it was about the defense,” said Cawley, who won his 170th career game. “We put Imani (Perez, a freshman) on (the Colts’ Gabi) Lucero and we shut her down.”
--- And so much for alleged shooting woes at the venerable Coliseum – a popular whine this time of year since the tournament was forced out of the Pepsi Center -- that had the likes of Led Zeppelin, Elvis Presley and Nirvana grace its hall in addition to Denver’s ABA team, the Rockets. It didn’t bother them and it didn’t bother the Mustangs. In Thursday’s semifinals, Mullen made 8-of-13 shots to run past Holy Family. On Saturday, the Mustangs were 10-of-21 on 3-pointers.
“We’re pretty smart,” said Cawley, who has been part of four titles, two as head man. “We figured it out.”
They did.
Pueblo South, which comes from arguably the last, great high-school sports town in Colorado, grabbed a 15-10 lead as both teams led with turnover issues, although Mullen climbed within 23-21 at halftime.
However, a basket by sophomore Alexa Dominguez, a superior substitute off the bench all season, gave Mullen the lead for good and fittingly ignited a game-deciding run by two other players off the bench, Webster and senior Iliana Perez.
Webster made two 3-pointers down the stretch of the third, one in the final seconds to keep the lead at 40-33 entering the fourth. She added six more points down the stretch. And Iliana Perez, who handled her role with sophistication throughout 2018-19, scored nine of her 17 points in the fourth to quell any hopes by the Colts of coming back.
Do the math – Iliana Perez and Webster combined for 29 points off the bench.
“They were great,” Cawley said.
Iliana Perez, a starter the previous season, said “honestly, I did not have a problem adjusting to it. I just knew we had to figure out what was best for our team. I didn’t see myself as a bench player or the sixth player … I just saw myself as a player.”
And Webster, who saw little playing time in the regular season and dutifully logged minutes on junior varsity before cashing the deciding basket in the Sweet 16 at Pueblo West, added: “I’ve always wanted an opportunity to do this. We were all so pumped up and ready to win this game. I used every ounce of energy in my body. I’m so grateful for our coaches and teammates … we were all on the bench and crying, it’s just so great!”
In appreciating her teammate, Iliana Perez insisted “I had been off all season, but Abby had to overcome her own type of adversity, and when she came in and decided to shoot, she just blew us out of the wate!.”
Point guard Megan Pohs, a sophomore who added 16 points as well as superior ball-handling that drew a wave of oohs and aahs from the crowd, ran the team smartly. Again.
“I think at half we realized how far we had come,” she said. “We just had a big urge to win.”
Imani Perez began slowly, but picked it up and finished with six points and 11 rebounds.
“It wasn’t the start I wanted,” she said. “I’m just so happy to win in my first year of high school. I knew we were capable and we were so under-estimated, but we proved we’re a good team and capable of going places.
“And I just loved playing with my sister.”
Sophomore guard Elaina Martinez scored the game;s first basket and added two 3-pointers. Freshman Gracie Gallegos was held scoreless as was sophomore Haley Van Horn, but their defense and rebounding were there all season.
Considering everything from Mullen’s disappointing seed to the team playing mostly underclassmen to Cawley’s display of considerable skill in managing and maintaining a talented roster, not a Mustang in sight could complain.
The Mustangs appear to be set up for seasons to come, Mullen ended a championship drought to rejoin the state’s elite and some much-needed down time for a team that could use it is here.
“This is something we’ll all remember,” Imani Perez said.
MULLEN 63, PUEBLO SOUTH 44
Mullen 10 11 19 23 – 63
Pueblo South 15 8 10 11 – 44
Mullen – Pohs 5 5-5 16, Martinez 3 0-0 8, Gallegos 0 0-0 0, Van Horn 0 0-0 0, Im. Perez 2 2-5 6, Dominguez 2 0-2 4, Il. Perez 6 1-3 17, Oswald 0 0-0 0, Webster 4 1-2 12, Loukopoulos 0 0-0 0, Hart 0 0-0 0, Medina 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 9-17 63.
Pueblo South – Dupree 5 4-4 16, Nelson 2 0-0 5, Keck 2 0-0 4, Patterson 2 0-0 5, Lucero 3 8-9 14, Delgado 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 12-14 44.
3-pt. goals – Il. Perez 4, Webster 3, Martinez 2, Pohs; Dupree 2, Nelson, Patterson.
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