On to the final!
Mustangs girls crush Holy Family 55-33, headed to title game.
They are as young and inexperienced as any team in the state.
The shooting background, or lack of it as is usually said about the Denver Coliseum, was never a factor.
And despite being a No. 14 seed, they will be in the title game.
Mullen’s Mustangs, starting its regular group of three sophomores and two freshmen, shot it well early and often, employed its signature defense and simply rolled second-seeded Holy Family, an old Parochial League rival, 55-33 on Thursday in the Class 4A final four.The Mustangs will bring a 19-8 record into Saturday’s final against the Pueblo South (24-3). They will be playing for the school’s first Colorado team championship since 2011, when boys soccer won in the fall.
Afterward, Mullen talked like a winner and confident competitor, as if it had something to prove.
And it did. The Mustangs have now downed, in order, the No. 19, 3, 6 and 2 seeds in the bracket with its only in-state losses against 5A final-four teams, and the Mustangs are acting as if they are enjoying themselves.
“Not bad for a 14th seed,” said head coach Frank Cawley, adding that all 12 Mustangs who played on Thursday came from surrounding Catholic elementary schools. “It was a team win.”
Freshman Gracie Gallegos, who tied with sophomore point guard Megan Pohs for team scoring honors with 11 points, said “it’s just an unbelievable feeling. I can’t explain it.”
Pohs, who got the Mustangs rolling with a 3-pointer for the first scoring of the game, said “I had a blast and I think the team had a blast coming into the final four. And winning that game was crazy. We didn’t even make the playoffs last year and now that we’re going into the championship game it’s surreal.”
Mullen trailed only once and once it built a double-figure lead, it never relinquished it.
Pohs’ opening 3-pointer sparked an 8-of-13 shooting performance as the Mustangs never seemed to struggle with what other teams have termed as poor shooting backgrounds at the venerable venue.
“We just practiced a lot of shots that we knew we were going tot ake in the game and we were able to make them,” Gallegos said.
Plus, Holy Family, which ended 21-6, had turnover issues against the Mullen defense, piling up 22 for the game, 12 in the opening 8 minutes.
The Tigers actually took a 5-3 lead, only to have the Mustangs erupt for an 18-0 run that blew it open early. Mullen led 19-5 after a quarter and 29-15 at halftime. Its largest lead was 24 points late. And even when Holy Family cut it to 31-20 early in the third quarter, the Mustangs simply ran away again.
Mullen enjoyed most of what the game had to offer. Pohs and Elaina Martinez instituted ball movement and perimeter shooting; Imani Perez (nine points) and Haley Van Horn offered inside play, defense and rebounding; Gallegos continued her considerable evolvement; and players such as Alexa Dominguez, Iliana Perez and multiple others off the bench contributed in many ways.
“It’s why it was a team win,” Cawley said.
Said Holy Family head coach Ron Rossi: “The lights were a bit too bright for us and (the Mustangs) came out smoking, and we were like scared rabbits out there, and played like it. Mullen’s a very good team and has so many weapons.”
The Mustangs now have their most victories in a season since 2008-09, when they won 23 and lost to Broomfield in the finale.
Certainly, they want one more.
“I’m excited,”Cawley said. “We’re 32 minutes away and we’re playing pretty well. I’m proud of them. It’s pretty good what we’ve done.”
MULLEN 55, HOLY FAMILY 33
Mullen 19 10 8 18 -- 55
Holy Family 5 10 7 11 -- 33
Mullen – Pohs 4 0-0 11, Martinez 1 0-0 2, Gallegos 5 0-0 11, Van Horn 2 0-0 4, Im. Perez 3 3-3 9, Dominguez 3 1-4 7, Il. Perez 2 0-0 4, Webster 1 0-0 3, Hart 0 0-2 0, Oswald 0 0-0 0, Elges 0 0-0 0, Oates-Stamm 1 0-0 2.Totals 22 4-9 55.
Holy Family – McKenzie 1 1-2 3, Gudino 5 1-3 13, Whitlock 1 4-5 6, Ward 2 0-0 4, Aanerud 0 1-3 1, Gardon 1 0-0 2, Wells 1 0-0 3, Sanders 0 1-2 1, Winters 0 0-0 0, Thomas 0 0-0 0, Giron 0 0-0 0, Hren 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 8-15 33.
3-pt. goals – Pohs 3, Gallegos, Webster; Gudino 2, Wells.
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