DENVER – In their lone matchup this season, the Mead girls basketball team cruised to a 36-point win over Frederick.

But weird things happen at the Denver Coliseum. The Golden Eagles played with no fear and jumped out a lead after the first and the game even went into halftime tied.

Then Mead started looking more like Mead. They battled through the second half to get a 56-37 win and advance to the Final 4 for the second straight year.

“We just had to make to make adjustments and keep believing in the process,” coach Mike Ward said. “Defensively, we didn’t play great in the first half. And we had to focus more on the offensive side and play at our pace.”

A 21-7 run for the Mavericks in the third quarter ultimately swung the momentum and it was highlighted with an Elena Gomez basket from under the hoop to push the lead to 10. She followed it up with a 3-pointer on the next possession that came off a tip and a steal. Mead never looked back.

“We rely on the full team and not just one player,” Gomez said. “We always say defense brings teams together and offense makes teams feel good. Whoever gets that tip on defense, that brings us together and the offense is just the cherry on top.”

Gomez finished with a team-high 19 points while Madi Clark had 13 and Caroline Kron had 11.

Now for the second year in a row, the Mavericks head to the Class 5A state semifinals. Last year, they lost to eventual state champion Roosevelt, but the Roughriders are out of contention, having been eliminated by Green Mountain in Friday’s first Great 8 game at the Coliseum.

A year later, that loss stings a little less, but the lessons learned from that moment will ride back to the Coliseum with the Mavericks next weekend.

“We can’t be content,” Ward said. “We need to come in [next week] with the same work ethic and the same selfless attitude.”

Mullen 53, Windsor 43

(Eric Brown)

Makenzie Jones should get used to to winning on the Denver Coliseum floor. There are likely more of them in her future.

The Mustangs sophomore was fantastic as she scored 15 points to lead her team over Windsor and get the Mustangs back to the Final 4 for the first time since winning the 4A championship in 2022.

And while the win brought a smile to the face of her and her teammates, they’re more than aware that they still have plenty of work to do.

“I’m moving forward now,” she said. “I’m going to celebrate the win, but [the focus is on] the next game. Job is not finished.”

The Wizards and Mustangs were locked in a tight battle in the first half, with Mullen taking a one-point lead into the locker room at halftime. Windsor had tightened the gap after falling behind in the first quarter.

What was a three-point game in the closing seconds of the third quarter, became a six-point lead for Mullen thanks to a banked 3-pointer at the buzzer from Keaton Arangua-Egbert.

Mullen seemingly had firm control of the game from that point on.

Windsor was led by Ryleigh Hess’s 14 points and sophomore Gracie Worsley put on a good performance, scoring 12 points before fouling out of the game late in the fourth quarter.