Winter 19-20: What a difference a year makes for 'Stangs girls basketball

Put down your devices. There is no need to ask Siri.

Most everyone knows the answer to the question: Which team in 4A girls basketball is the one to chase?

It’s Mullen.

What a difference a year can make. Heading into the 2018-19 season, girls basketball head coach Frank Cawley said, “we didn’t know what we didn’t know. And I think this year, like I told the girls when we began practice, in my opinion the hardest thing to do in team sports is to repeat and
defend that championship.”

So in 2019-20, the Mustangs, who won the Class 4A championship the past March, go from hunter to being hunted.

It’s in stark contrast to a season ago, when the Mustangs’ only in-state losses were to Cherry Creek, Grandview and Regis Jesuit, programs that accounted for three of the final four teams in 5A. Mullen, which started two freshman and three sophomores, entered the 4A bracket as a No. 14 seed and had to win road games in Montrose and Pueblo West.

However, with everything virtually reversed, Cawley said Mullen will have to be prepared … for everything, including battling themselves.

“In a lot of ways, we can sometimes be our own worst enemy and we have to guard against that,” he said. “But I feel good about it. The chemistry is good and the leadership is solid.”

Out front, Mullen sports two-time all-Centennial League guard Meghan Pohs and Elaina Martinez, both juniors. The very talented front court includes Imani Perez (6-foot-2) and the 6-foot Gracie Gallegos, arguably the best pair of sophomores in Colorado, as well as junior Haley Van Horn.

In addition, there is a wave of capable players off very talented bench, headed by the versatile Alexa Dominguez, a junior who can play all three positions; perimeter shooter Abby Webster, who patiently awaited her turn last season and delivered in the late rounds of the playoffs; and 6-0 sophomore Kilah Freelon. Also include juniors McKenna Elges and Jessica Oates-Stamm, and sophomore Evenyce Gutierrez, and this is a stacked roster eager to defend its title.

“I’ve been working on getting stronger in the post because a lot of people are going to be coming after us,” Perez said. “I still have to work on (going left) because it’s not my dominant hand. I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do this year.”

Said Pohs: “I think we’re going to work harder, for sure, and we definitely won’t overlook anyone. We definitely have more confidence that last year but going into this one, we’re going to take it like any other season. We’re focused a lot more this year, especially because we have a target on our backs. It will make us work harder.”

The Mustangs, 20-8 the past season, enter this one on an eight-game winning streak. They will begin on Wednesday, Dec. 4, at the ThunderRidge-Castle View Tournament that will last into Friday; host Regis Jesuit on Dec. 10; and be at Evergreen on Dec. 12 before heading to Phoenix for a Nike Tournament before Christmas.

After the holidays, the Centennial League will begin, on Jan. 8 at Arapahoe, and include home-and-aways with defending state champion Cherry Creek and runner-up Grandview. Most every other league team appears to be improved.

“Our league is going to be ridiculous,” Cawley said, also noting that six of Mullen’s games will be against top 10 teams in 5A.

The regular season will end on Feb. 22 and the playoff bracket will be released on Feb. 23. First-round games will be on Feb. 25 and the semifinals and final games will be March 13-14, respectively, at the Denver Coliseum.

“If we accept our roles, and that’s the whole key – everybody’s ability to accept their role and play for the team inside of playing for themselves – then we’ll be OK,” Cawley said. “Selfishness could kill us, but I’m not worried about it. It will also be about how we respond to adversity.

“The staff has good relationships with the kids and a lot of it will start there.”

And while the hoopla and excitement of 2018-19 was fun, Cawley wants the Mustangs to move on from it … but not totally.

“I think the kids tasted it last year and liked it,” he said. “And they want more.”