BRENNAN’S BIG NIGHT NOT ENOUGH
Mead bows out in Class 5A quarterfinals
DENVER >> Mead senior Charlotte Brennan was lost in the middle of her teammates as they’d finally emerged from the locker rooms after some time following the Mavericks’ 44-41 loss to Windsor Thursday night.
The 5-foot-6 point guard had otherwise stood out at the Denver Coliseum, playing every second in Class 5A quarterfinals. Now, she wished she and her team had just a little more.
“It’s bittersweet because obviously we wanted to come out on the other side of this,” said Brennan, who ended her high school career with a gamehigh 16 points in the loss. “But I mean we’re so proud of what we did and we set the bar pretty high for next year and the future years of Mead High School girls basketball.”
Brennan had carried the offensive weight for the fifthseeded Mavericks (20-6), who kept things close despite their leading scorer, Kyra Haan, plagued with foul trouble. It was almost enough. But not quite.
The fourth-seeded Wizards survived.
“This one game didn’t define who they are,” said Mead coach Michael Ward, who took over the program in October. “They should be very proud of the season they had. They should walk out of that locker room with their heads held high and be proud.”
Brennan went 5 of 8 from the field in the opening half for 11 points, giving Mead a 26-24 lead into the break.
That disappeared quickly. The Wizards opened the third quarter on an 8-0 run, taking command and widening the gap. What though could’ve snowballed — Haan picking up her fourth foul, Windsor’s superior size — didn’t.
Mead had its chances in the final minutes.
Haan sank four straight free throws to pull the Mavs within 40-38 with 2:45 remaining. Gianna Wurth then had a chance to tie it on the next possession, but her lay-in played like
half-pipe, drooping in and out.
Raegan Johnson pushed Windsor’s lead back to two possessions in the final 60 seconds. Brennan cut it to 44-41 with 3.2 seconds remaining and Mead had a chance at one last-second heave after a pair of missed free throws by Sam Darnell. The inbounds pass, though, was intercepted.
“I feel like in the third quarter we got kind of lackadaisical on defense and dug ourselves just a little too deep,” Brennan said. “But I think we still did our thing. Did our best in all honesty.”
Mead’s 71-70 overtime win against Windsor Feb. 15 was the Mavericks’ first over the Wizards in their last 13 meetings. Windsor had beaten Mead in last year’s state semifinals.
The Mavericks will graduate three seniors off their varsity roster (per Maxpreps) in Brennan, Haan and Abby Miller.
“Our actions speak for us,” Haan said when asked about passing the torch. “The way we carry ourselves and the way we make it a family, I think is the most important takeaway they can have.”
Of note, the Mead boys team was tasked with trying to upend Frederick late Thursday night — a game that went past press time. For full coverage of that game, head to Bocopreps. com or the Longmont Times-call web site.