Gallegos leads the Mustangs to second title in three years
» An unforgettable Mullen High School girls basketball team saw its season reach a fitting conclusion Sunday afternoon inside Broadmoor World Arena.
A group that hasn’t lost a state tournament game since 2018 (and likely would’ve won in 2020 without the pandemic), won its second Class 4A title in three years after toppling Windsor, 67-44.
“This is the most unselfish team,” Mullen head coach Frank Cawley said. “They all bought into their roles, whether they liked it or not. I’m the most blessed coach in the world. I’m just so happy for them.”
It was all Mullen early, as the Mustangs looked like a team that has been here before, immediately jumping out to an 11-1 lead to start the game. Windsor settled in and started doing what they do best: forcing turnovers. Mullen had seven in the first quarter.
But Mullen’s length eventually suffocated Windsor — a team that averaged 78.2 points per game heading into the contest — on the offensive end. And the Wizards didn’t get the easy buckets they’re used to.
“Our defense has pretty much been our identity the entire year,” Cawley said. “We work on it every single day, we start every practice that way, we end every practice that way. And the kids took a lot of pride in it, so I’m not surprised but I’m very happy with how they played.”
Windsor averaged 5.9 3-pointers per game in the regular season, but they didn’t see their first one fall until four minutes left in the first half. The Wizards were 32.1% from the field in the first half and 2-for-7 from 3.
On a Mullen team headlined by its senior class, it was junior Gracie Gallegos, the team’s leading scorer, who dazzled the most. She had 13 points in the first half on 5-for-5 shooting, giving her team the 34-23 lead at the break.
“She’s amazing,” Cawley said. “Every single night she guards the other team’s best player, and she usually leads us in scoring. So Gracie makes me look pretty good as a coach.”
Gallegos finished with 17 points. She has received some interest from Division I programs, including an offer from the University of Denver, and will likely see an uptick after a season of averaging 18 points per game.
The senior leader for Mullen, Megan Pohs, did not score in the first half but the Regis signee kept shooting coming out of the half. She drained four 3s in the third quarter to extend the Mustangs’ lead and help them run away with the championship.
“I think that’s our whole message. If your shots aren’t falling you got to keep your head up, eventually they will start falling,” Pohs said. “And towards the end, they started falling. It was a great feeling.”