4A girls basketball semifinals: Mullen and Windsor to face off in second straight 4A title game
By Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Sports Information & Brad Cochi/CHSAANow.com
Photo: Brad Cochi/CHSAANow
The Class 4A girls basketball Final Four was played on Thursday night at the Denver Coliseum. Mullen and Windsor both won their respective games and advanced to the state championship game. Windsor and Mullen will face off in the title game for the second straight year.
(2) Mullen 55, (6) Green Mountain 25
DENVER — Mullen girls basketball team is headed back to familiar territory.
The Mustangs defeated Green Mountain 55-25 in the first of four Class 4A and 5A state semifinal girls games Thursday night at the Denver Coliseum. The win was Mullen’s fourth straight Final 4 victory in as many years.
“It means a lot, especially for the seniors since it is our last go,” Mullen senior Gracie Gallegos said of getting back to another state championship game. “It’s really nice having all the fans here since we didn’t have that last year or the year before.”
Mullen won the 4A state title in 2019 and 2021. There was no state basketball champions crowned in 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic canceling the title games two years.
The No. 2-seeded Mustangs (20-6 record) will face the other 4A semifinal winner of Mead/Windsor on Saturday, March 12 back at the Denver Coliseum. No. 6 Green Mountain did make things interesting in the first half.
The undersized Rams held Mullen to just 22 points in the first half.
“To end with Jayda’s steal it gave our girls so much life,” Green Mountain coach Darren Pitzner said of junior Jayda Maves grabbing a steal and layup to end the first half and cutting Mullen’s lead to 22-15 at the break. “Mullen has been blowing out everyone. To take away their transition game and inside game for our little girls was an amazing accomplishment.”
However, it was all Mullen in the second half. The Mustangs started the second half on a 14-0 run and held Green Mountain to just 10 points in the second half.
“We had a little bit of a slow start at the beginning,” said Gallegos, who finished with a game-high 13 points. “We picked it up and got a little more comfortable out there. We started passing better to get better shots.”
The Mustangs dominated down low with sophomore Allison Schwertner, along with seniors Kilah Freelon, Imani Perez and Gallegos towering over the smaller Rams. Freelon finished with with a dozen points and Perez had a game-high 14 rebounds.
“I think we had a good defensive effort,” Gallegos said of holding The Rams to 6-for-39 shooting (15.4 percent) from the field. “I think everyone did their best of shutting down (Green Mountain’s) best players.”
Green Mountain senior Olivia Sears had a team-high eight points for the Rams. Maves and senior Avery Oaster both finished with six points each.
It was the end to another historic season for Green Mountain. It was the third straight trip to the semifinals for the Rams. Green Mountain made its first ever Final 4 in 2020, losing to Holy Family. Last season, Green Mountain lost to Windsor in the semifinals.
“They are the most accomplished senior class in school history,” Pitzner said as the Rams finish this four-year run with three 4A Jeffco League titles and an 83-14 overall record. “I love all seven of them. They are so fun to coach. I’m so fortunate to be apart of their journey.”
Familiar foes in Windsor and Mead met for the third time this season on Thursday night, only this time it was in the girls basketball Class 4A Final Four.
With a berth in Saturday’s state championship game on the line, Thursday’s game was closer than the previous two matchups. But in the end, in was Windsor that emerged victorious, 64-55, for the third time in 2021-22.
The victory set up another rematch between Windsor and Mullen playing for the state championship trophy for the second year in a row.
“We never overlook out opponents and we scout every team like it’s the same team,” Windsor senior Jolie Jiricek said. “It was a little bit more of a nail biter than what we’re used to. I went over to my mom after the game and all of our parents said they had stomach aches. But it was a really fun game and that was something we really haven’t had to do all season.”
The top-seeded Wizards (26-0) dominated the first quarter and led 21-8 to start the second. But a strong second quarter from the No. 5 Mavericks (21-6), who played in the Final Four for the first time in their program’s history on Thursday, cut the lead to 31-29 at halftime.
Aided by playing a zone for the first time all season, the Wizards reclaimed the advantage after halftime. They outscored the Mavericks, who did not go down quietly in their Final Four debut, by seven points in the second half to close out the game and advance.
“We were up 21-8 and we gave them the momentum,” Windsor head coach Karin Nicholls said. “We kind of got on them at halftime and we had to make some defensive adjustments. We’ve never played a zone the entire season. Not once. Not one possession. But I’ve held onto this zone in my back pocket all year, knowing that this could be the game when we needed it.”
Windsor won its only girls basketball title in 1994 and will have a chance to add a second on Saturday.
For the Mavericks and despite the loss, Thursday’s Final Four appearance resonated with Mead head coach JR Sagner as a standard-setting moment for the program.
“That’s obviously not the way we wanted to finish, but that’s a tough Windsor squad,” JR Sagner said. “That’s a well-coached squad and our girls never quit. They showed heart throughout the whole game. We got down early and came all the way back. They set the groundwork for a lot of good years to come.”
Windsor will play Mullen in the 4A championship game at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.
