Younger Mustangs "grow up"
Big win at Arapahoe.
CENTENNIAL – “We grew up tonight,” Frank Cawley said on Wednesday.
And, of course, it was through the hard way, but what other way is there for a young team?
Mullen trailed host Arapahoe 13-0 in the Centennial League at Sitting Eagle Gymnasium, one of the better Class 5A venues in the Denver-metropolitan area, and didn’t score for the first 3 minutes, 49 seconds of the game.
However, Cawley refused to panic, saw an opportunity for a learning experience for his team as a head coach and didn’t needlessly step in – he simply called a timeout, gave instruction and sent the Mustangs back on the floor.
It worked.
The Mustangs caught the Warriors at 15 by the end of the first quarter, took the lead in the opening seconds of the second and didn’t trail the rest of the way.
“We had been talking about being mentally tough,” Cawley said. “We weren’t ready, there was no energy in the locker room … but Alexa (Dominguez) got us back in the game.”
First off the bench, Dominguez, a sophomore and one of nine underclassmen on the roster, scored her team’s first six points and the adjustment started to work. Along with the likes of emerging freshman Gracie Gallegos, Mullen, in improving to 11-7 overall, 6-3 in league, gradually pulled away, led by as many as 23 points and weathered any late attempts by the Warriors, who dipped to 7-10, 4-5.
“We just picked it up after the first 5 minutes,” said Gallegos, who added 12 points. “But then we really picked it up on defense and got it together on offense.”
Cawley has been looking for another scorer to emerge. Sophomore point guard Megan Pohs, all-league the past season, again led the way with 14 points and freshman Imani Perez added 13, including consecutive three-point plays in the third quarter. Gallegos’ feel for the game as well as her basketball IQ “are great,” Cawley said, as is her defense, and she’s a candidate to start adding to the scoring.
“I’m getting used to it,” she said of playing on the varsity level. “And our ball movement was good.”
With senior and super sub Iliana Perez sidelined with a rib injury, others picked up the slack for a night. Sophomore Elaina Martinez scored 12 points. Dominguez finished with eight.
Plus, Mullen, protected well late – despite going 0-of-3 from the floor, it combined for 13-of-19 free throws over the final 8 minutes.
“Our defense once again came through and we figured it out … and they figured it out on their own,” Cawley said of his players. “And that’s the next step.”
The Mustangs will be action again on Friday, when they will host Cherokee Trail, 5:30 p.m. It will be the first of four consecutive games at Hutchison Fieldhouse.
MULLEN 62, ARAPAHOE 50
Mullen 15 18 16 13 -- 62
Arapahoe 15 7 13 15 -- 50
Mullen – Pohs 5 2-3 14, Martinez 3 5-6 12, Gallegos 3 6-8 12, Van Horn 1 0-0 2, Im. Perez 5 3-6 13, Oswald 0 0-0 0, Dominguez 4 0-1 8, Medina 0 0-0 0, Oates-Stamm 0 0-0 0, Elges 0 0-0 0, Webster 0 1-4 1, Hart 0 0-0 0, Loukopoulus 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 17-28 62.
Arapahoe – March 4 4-6 13, Golden 0 0-0 0, Wortman 2 0-0 4, Cadorette 4 0-0 11, Crispe 5 2-2 12, McClarie 2 0-0 6, Delaney 0 0-0 0, Edwards 1 2-4 4, Smahelova 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 8-10 50.
3-pt. goals – Pohs 2, Martinez; Cadorette 3, March.
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