Mustangs roll Bruins and halt decade-long skid
Mullen defense looms large in 57-22 victory over Cherry Creek; 'Stangs snap 20-game losing streak to state's largest school.
Hangover? There was none of it for Mullen after losing to Grandview on Wednesday night in a battle of the top teams in Colorado’s upper classifications.
No lamenting. No what-ifs. No apologies.
It was evident on Friday in the Class 4A Mustangs’ home opener – they rolled 5A Cherry Creek 57-22 in Centennial League play at Hutchison Fieldhouse.
Not only did Mullen (1-1 overall and in league) lay some serious defense on the Bruins (0-2, 0-2), but it halted a 20-game losing streak to them in the process. Correct, 20 games, and the past nine had been by double figures. The Mustangs hadn’t defeated Cherry Creek since Feb. 17, 2010.
In a battle of the past two teams to win Colorado championships on its highest levels – Cherry Creek won 5A in 2019 and the Mustangs 4A – no fans were on hand to witness it, but head coach Frank certainly saw what he needed to see.
“The girls stepped up to the challenge,” he said, also calling it “the best defensive effort we’ve had as a team (in a long time). We learned a lot last Wednesday and what we learned is, when we play inside-out we’re pretty effective.”
The Mustangs, led by Gracie Gallegos, Imani Perez and Kilah Freelon, held the Bruins to just three baskets in the first half. For the game, Cherry Creek was only 8-of-39 shooting and Gallegos held Bruins senior guard Abby Wrede to 0-of-5 and just three points.
“I think it’s just really good to be back,” Gallegos said. “We took that loss and turned it around, and we tried our best. I think we had really good communication and we helped out and switched. It was just a good team win.”
Cawley said it was uplifting “that we get the ball inside to Kilah and Imani, and Haley (Van Horn), and they played well inside on defense, all of them.
“But we also held the defending 5A state champion to 22 points.”
Offensively, the Mustangs trailed in the opening minutes, but went on a quick binge to set the tone and held a double-digit-lead after a quarter. They didn’t trail again. Their lead grew to 20-plus points in the third and 30-or-more down the stretch.
Gallegos topped Mullen with 15 points and Alexa Dominguez, along with her defense, rebounding and running down loose balls, added 10 points. Perez had eight in addition to her rebounding and shot-blocking, and Freelon and Van Horn contributed six each.
Mullen will resume league play on Tuesday, Feb. 2, at Smoky Hill in Aurora.
MULLEN 57, CHERRY CREEK 22
Cherry Creek 5 4 5 8 -- 22
Mullen 17 10 13 17 -- 57
Cherry Creek – L. Christianson 0 0-0 0, K. Christianson 1 0-0 2, Gordon 0 0-0 0, Kyle 6 0-0 15, Wrede 0 3-4 3, Smith 0 0-0 0, Leach 0 0-0 0, McDavid 0 0-0 0, Johnson 0 0-0 0, Brennan 1 0-0 2, Headrick 0 0-0 0. Totals 8 3-4 22.
Mullen – Pohs 1 0-0 2, Martinez 2 0-0 5, Van Horn 3 0-0 6, Perez 2 4-4 8, Gallegos 6 1-1 15, Dominguez 5 0-0 10, Webster 2 0-0 5, Oates-Stamm 0 0-0 0, Freelon 3 0-0 6, Schwertner 0 0-0 0, Gutierrez 0 0-0 0, Aragon 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 5-7 57.
3-pt. goals – Kyle 3; Gallegos 2, Martinez, Webster.
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