'Stangs come up just short of powerful Grandview

 

AURORA – You’ve heard of bad losses?

Mullen had what could be termed as a good one on Friday.

Indeed, the above may be an oxymoron, but the Mustangs’ 53-49 loss at Grandview in the Centennial League capped the regular season, gave them third place in Colorado’s best league and piqued their interest about extra basketball that will begin next week.

“Losing’s not OK, but I think we’re ready for the playoffs,” coach Frank Cawley said.

The defending Class 4A champion Mustangs, who were coming off an 85-34 spanking of Overland, are 16-7 overall, a game better than the past season, and finished 10-4 in the league for a second straight season.

There were two key stretches in attempting to unseat the Wolves (20-3, 13-1), who have been in the past three 5A title games and won in 2018 and 2019. They also have won 73 of their past 75 Centennial games.

Grandview threatened to run away after taking a 29-21 halftime lead as 6-foot-7 sophomore Lauren Betts pumped in 18 points. However, the Mustangs didn’t even think about caving in – they came together defensively and kept the Wolves sweating until the end.

“That’s a top-50 team in the country and the thing I’m most proud of is they did what they needed to do at halftime,” Cawley said. “We answered.”

And three times the Mustangs cut the Grandview lead to two points in the fourth, but were unable to knock down the shot to tie it or take the lead.

Said sophomore Imani Perez: “We went into the game and coach was, like, ‘Where’s the confidence you have?’ It’s definitely a tough loss, but we played super well against them.”

In particular, the 6-2 Perez probably had her best game involving taller foes, going for a team-high 15 points and 11 rebounds, as well as leading the defensive charge down low against Betts, who scored one basket over the final two quarters.

In addition, Alexa Dominguez, Gracie Gallegos, Elaina Martinez and Haley Van Horn helped cut off inside passing lanes and joined in rebounding and ball pressure. Offensively, Megan Pohs added nine points, and Dominguez, Gallegos and Martinez combined for another 17.

The 4A playoff bracket is to be released Sunday and Cawley said he expects a first-round bye, then a second-round home game on Friday.

Perez and her teammates say bring on the postseason.

“One hundred percent,” she said. “Yeah, we’re definitely ready for the playoffs. We need to play j  ust like that in the layoffs.”

 

Mullen  15  6 15  13  --  49

Grandview  17  12  11  13  --  53

Mullen -- Pohs 3 2-2 9, Martinez 2 0-0 5, Van Horn 2 0-0 4, Perez 7 0-0 15, Gallegos 2 0-0 6, Dominguez 3 0-0 6, Oates-Stamm 0 2-2 2, Freelon 1 0-0 2, Webster 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 4-4 49.

Grandview -- Hudgins 4 0-0 8, Betts 9 2-2 20, O’Grady 4 4-4 13, Johnson 0 0-0 0, Hudson 1 3-4 5, Campbell 1 0-0 3, Robinson 1 0-0 2, Brown 0 0-0 0, Jones 1 0-0 2. Totals 21 9-10 53.

3-pt. goals – Gallegos 2, Martinez, Perez, Pohs; Campbell, O’Grady.