Imani Perez sparks league win
Freshman scores 17 points.
They are starting to evolve in front of appropriate eyes.
Mullen’s Mustangs are playing smarter, with more confidence and seem to be understanding the game a bit more.
On Wednesday night, they blew away Overland 61-24 at Hutchison Fieldhouse to complete the first go-round of the Centennial League. The Mustangs are 10-6 overall, 5-2 in the loop.
And they want more.
“They’re getting it,” head coach Frank Cawley said. “They’re starting to understand their roles.”
Case in point: The Trailblazers, who are 4-11, 1-6 and clearly attempting to reload, didn’t have anyone to handle 6-foot-2 freshman Imani Perez. Plus, the Mustangs made strides in getting up and down the floor quicker.
Perez went for 17 points and Mullen had little trouble in switching from defense to offense on the fly.
“I think we’re getting better in transition and what the game brings us,” Cawley said. “And in this game we had opportunities to pound it inside, and we did.”
Twelve of 14 Mustangs scored. They led 15-2 after 8 minutes and 29-4 at halftime. Cawley substituted freely and even a bunch of missed shots early didn’t matter. Mullen’s transition game fueled a lot of drives to the basket and its defense was large, forcing bad shots, blocking shots and generating numerous turnovers.
Iliana Perez came off the bench for nine points and if it wasn’t her doing something productive, it was Gracie Gallegos or Megan Pohs or Elaina Martinez … Cawley gets to fill in the blanks over the next round of league play and he’s excited about the opportunities.
“I think we had a nice adjustment through the first round of league,” he said. “Grandview’s 7-0, (Cherry) Creek is 6-1 and we’re right there. We just need to continue to hold serve and I like our chances.”
A year ago, the Mustangs were 5-9 in the Centennial. They will begin Round II through the Class 5A-based group on Saturday at Cherry Creek in Greenwood Village, tip-off at 5:30 p.m.
“It will be tougher,” Cawley said.
MULLEN 61, OVERLAND 24
Overland 2 2 9 11 -- 24
Mullen 15 14 21 11 -- 61
Overland – A. Charles 2 1-2 5, Stapleton 3 3-3 9, Mahmoud 3 0-0 6, Jackson 0 0-0 0, Felix 2 0-3 4, McNeil-Johnson 0 0-0 0, Hill 0 0-0 0, Prescott 0 0-2 0, Gamez-Scriven 0 0-0 0. Totals 10 4-9 24.
Mullen – Pohs 2 0-0 6, Martinez 1 0-0 2, Gallegos 3 0-0 7, Van Horn 1 0-0 2, Im. Perez 7 3-4 17, Hart 1 0-2 2, Dominguez 3 0-0 6, Webster 1 1-2 4, Oswald 1 0-0 2, Elges 0 0-0 0, Oates-Stamm 1 0-0 2, Il. Perez 4 1-2 9, Medina 0 0-2 0, Loukopoulos 1 0-0 2. Totals 26 5-12 61.
3-pt. goals – Pohs 2, Gallegos, Webster.
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