The reasons behind No. 2-seeded Montrose’s 47-35 loss to No. 3 Mullen in the Sweet 16 of the Class 4A girls state basketball tournament on Friday were fairly obvious. Though they had several chances to cut their near game-long deficit and even take the lead, the Lady Indians could never quite get over the hump.
Eventually, time ran out on both the game and their season, as the Lady Indians ended their 2007-08 campaign 19-5, just three wins shy of tying the program record for victories in a season.
 Robin Washut / Daily Press Montrose’s bench looks on during the final seconds of the Lady Indians’ 47-35 loss to No. 3-seeded Mullen. Advertisement |
Montrose opened up the game well, taking an early 9-3 lead to start the first quarter. A series of turnovers and missed free throws by MHS quickly erased that lead, and the Lady Mustangs eventually took a 13-12 advantage at the end of the quarter.
The second quarter was more of the same, as Montrose managed just three points to Mullen’s 11 and quickly fell behind 24-15 going into halftime.
“Definitely, turnovers and free throws were the big things that hurt us,” senior forward Jordan DeJulio said. “We had opportunities to score, but we couldn’t convert. We tried and tried, but nothing would go in for us.”
Despite their rough start, the Lady Indians were able to rally back and cut Mullen’s lead to four late in the third quarter on a 3-pointer by senior Lauren Cooling.
With about two minutes remaining in the third, though, Mullen head coach Frank Cawley opted to run a stall offense that consisted of passes along the perimeter without a shot.
As a result, the Lady Mustangs ran nearly 1:45 of the clock before turning the ball over on a travel.
With 15 seconds left in the quarter, Montrose had a chance to cut the lead to two or even one, but Mullen freshman Autumn Burt stole the ball at halfcourt and converted it into an uncontested layup.
The Lady Indians were never the same the rest of the game, as they were unable to come any closer in the fourth quarter.
“That was a big one,” Mraule said.
All together, Montrose committed 16 turnovers and made 19 of 30 free throws. That percentage is also a bit misleading, five of those misses were on the front end of 1-and-1s.
Another part of the problem was that Montrose had spent all week preparing for Mullen’s zone defense, which it used last week to defeat Fossil Ridge in the second round of the tournament. Instead of a zone, though, the Lady Mustangs used a full-court press the entire game, throwing MHS out of its offense from the get-go.
“We practiced against a zone all week and then they came out in a man-to-man, and we struggled to get our offense going,” senior Sydney Allen said. “We weren’t able to adjust like we should have.”
DeJulio and junior Rachel Hansen both led the Lady Indians with eight points.
Friday’s loss was the final game for Montrose’s five seniors: Cooling, DeJulio, Allen, Stacia Holman and Tessa Sulivan.
The Lady Indians do return six players with significant varsity experience, including three seniors-to-be.
But while Mraule said he expects MHS to be as good or even better than this year’s squad, he said replacing the five seniors will an extremely difficult task.
“It’s always tough to see seniors go, but with these five it’s going to be really tough,” Mraule said. “We’ve got some big shoes to fill next year. I hate to see them go.”
Contact Robin Washut via e-mail at robinw@montrosepress.com
• Be respectful of others, the writer and the subjects in the story.
• Be relevant. Keep your comments on point.
• See the guidelines for TalkAbout. Perhaps your comment is best for that community forum, available from the home page, instead of commenting on a particular story.
Comment posters are responsible for the opinions they express and the accuracy of the information they provide. We urge comment writers to treat this as a public forum where manners matter. We encourage a collegial, non-insulting tone. All readers comments must be approved by our staff before posting to the Web site. Be aware, in accordance with the Communications Decency Act and provisions upheld in judicial appeal, that you are responsible for comments posted on this Web site. Montrose Press is not liable for messages from third parties.
DO NOT POST:
* Potentially libelous statements or damaging innuendo.
* Obscene, explicit, or racist language.
* Personal attacks, insults or threats.
* The use of another person's real name to disguise your identity.
* Comments unrelated to the story.
Opinions, advice and all other information expressed in montrosepress.com's reader comments represent the individual's own views and not necessarily those of the Montrose Press. Montrose Press does not endorse and is not responsible for statements, advice or opinions offered by anyone other than authorized Montrose Press spokespersons.
Thank you for your comments!