Bruins bash Mustangs in league opener
Creek wins 57-32.
Back in Colorado after a 1-3 showing in a national tournament in Phoenix, Mullen ran into a similar problem.
The Mustangs couldn’t make very many shots.
In their first outing since the holiday break, the Mustangs dropped their Centennial League openeron Thursday evening, 57-32 to Cherry Creek at Hutchison Fieldhouse.
In falling to 5-5 overall, Mullen lost control and its competitive edge over the middle two quarters by getting outscored by a combined 33-12, shooting just 5-of-21 from the floor and being unable to deal with Bruins junior star guard Jana Van Gytenbeek.
In losing their three out-of-state games by a combined 13 points, it was a familiar theme for head coach Frank Cawley.
“We couldn’t make a shot and it has been the story through the whole deal,” the coach said. “And then we needed to match (the Bruins’) intensity and we didn’t.”
Mullen traded punches early with Cherry Creek (6-2) and appeared to be dug in for a fight. However, the poor shooting was magnified by the play of Van Gytenbeek, who’s bound for Stanford and showed why again. She scored 16 of her game-high 24 points over the game’s middle 16 minutes, darting to the basket and finding open teammates, and having success guarding Mullen’s all-league player, sophomore guard Megan Pohs.
“I think we’ve got kids that don’t match that talent,” Cawley said, “but they are also talented. I think we’re kind of playing defeatists and that’s the next thing we need to learn, to be mentally tough.”
The Cherry Creek bulge reached 20 points in the third quarter and the Bruins didn’t give up much inside or outside.
For the Mustangs, freshman Imani Perez again led the way, totaling 10 points. Six other Mustangs scored, but none had more than five points. Imani Perez, Iliana Perez, Pohs, Haley Van Horn and Gracie Gallegos led most of the charge, particularly in first-half defense, but finding ways to generate offense and keep the score within range are next steps for a young team.
“I’m proud of the defensive effort in the first half, holding a team like that to 26 points in the first half was good,” Cawley said. “We’ve got some young kids and they’re learning how to play. When we share the ball, we’re good. The thing to impress on them is not to quit when they make mistakes ... I think they’re so afraid of making a mistake, but I don’t understand why that is. We need to learn that it’s all right to make a mental mistake. I don’t expect them to be perfect.”
The Mustangs will have another league matchup before classes resume next week. They will host Arapahoe in league play on Saturday, Jan. 5, at 1:30 p.m. at Hutchison Fieldhouse.
CHERRY CREEK 59, MULLEN 32
Cherry Creek 11 15 18 13 -- 59
Mullen 10 3 9 10 -- 32
Cherry Creek – Van Gytenbeek 9 5-5 24, Clark 3 0-0 6, Kyle 4 1-2 10, Gordon 0 1-2 1, Fein-Ashley 1 4-4 6, Wrede 2 0-0 6, Sparaco 0 0-0 0, Thompson 1 0-0 2, Hill 2 0-0 4. Totals 22 11-13 57.
Mullen – Pohs 2 0-0 5, Martinez 1 0-0 3, Gallegos 2 1-2 5, Van Horn 0 0-0 0, Im. Perez 4 2-4 10, Il. Perez 1 1-2 3, Dominguez 2 0-0 4, Elges 0 0-0 0, Webster 0 0-0 0, Oates-Stamm 0 0-0 0, Oswald 1 0-0 2, Hart 0 0-0 0, Loukopoulos 0 0-0 0, Medina. Totals 13 4-8 32.
3-pt. goals – Kyle, Van Gytenbeek; Martinez, Pohs.
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