Air Academy and Mullen to play for 5A girls basketball title

DENVER – An easy way to get back to a state basketball championship game would be to limit an opponent’s scoring opportunities.

So that’s what Mullen did.

The Mustangs held Mead without a field goal in the second quarter and ran out an 11-point lead. That powered them to a 44-30 win, putting them in the Class 5A girls basketball state title game, their first state title game since 2022, when they beat Windsor to win the 4A championship.

“Our coach really emphasizes that defense wins games,” senior Tatum Jones said. “If we play defense right, our offense will come no question.”

The defense did the heavy lifting. After getting out of the first quarter in an 8-8 tie, Mullen went on an 11-0 run over the first six minutes of the second. It was a stark contrast to the regular season game on Dec. 12 when it was the Mavericks getting a 10-point win.

Sophomore Makenzie Jones led the Mustangs in that loss with 11 points. She had just five in the win at Denver Coliseum, but Chloe Pelster had 14 and Tatum Jones had 12.

But the biggest difference came on the defensive end for the Mustangs as they Mead to 17 fewer points than in December.

“High school basketball is such a long season,” Tatum Jones said. “We worked so hard since that to focus on our defense and we had that offense come give us that success.”

After playing the last two seasons as a 6A team, the Mustangs will head to the 5A championship game and are looking to win their first state title in three seasons. Tatum Jones was a freshman on that championship team and can give her teammates some good perspective as they try to win the eighth title in program history.

“It’s about working hard and it’s about having fun,” Jones said. “It’s not the end of the world. My teammates really push through and they’re the hardest workers ever and I’m so glad that I get to practice with them because it helps me throughout each game.”

The 5A girls state championship game is slated for a 5:45 p.m. start at Denver Coliseum. It will be the penultimate game of the night as the 5A boys will tip at 7:15 in the final basketball game of the 2024-25 season.

(1) Air Academy 68, (5) Green Mountain 63

DENVER — Air Academy’s girls basketball team will get its shot a redemption.

The top-seeded Kadets advanced to the 5A state championship game after a 68-63 victory against No. 5-seed Green Mountain in the last Final 4 game of the night Thursday at the Denver Coliseum.

The 5A girls state championship game is slated for 5:45 p.m. Saturday, March 15, back at the Coliseum. Air Academy (26-0 record) will face No. 6 Mullen (18-9) in the title game.

“The difference this year is we trusted each other,” said Air Academy senior Lydia Flowers, who scored a game-high 18 points. “We took it one play at a time no matter the adversity.”

The Kadets advanced to the Final 4 a year ago as the No. 1 seed, but lost to Northfield in overtime during the semifinals. Flowers said it was a similar feeling when Air Academy got into foul trouble in the first half and Green Mountain (24-3) made a run after halftime.

However, junior guard Adrian Nelson had a monster game with 17 points, while also having to take over the point guard role for a time after junior Kinley Asp had to take a seat on the bench due to foul trouble.

“She stepped up,” Air Academy coach Phil Roiko said of Nelson. “That was Audrina’s best game on both ends of the court.”

Nelson jump-started the undefeated Kadets offense in the first half with a trio of 3-pointers. Air Academy got out to a double-digit lead before halftime.

“I’m so proud of her. She stepped up so much,” Flowers said of Nelson. “It is scary here in the Coliseum. Everyone had nerves. This is a big moment. She saw that spotlight and stepped right into it.”

Asp finished with 13 points and senior Tatyonna Brown had 14 points for Air Academy.

“That’s going to be a tough one. We are just glad we are in it,” Roiko said of the Kadets heading back to the title game for the first time since 2012. “We are going to celebrate tonight and get ready for it tomorrow.”

Air Academy’s lone girls basketball state title came back in 2012.

Green Mountain’s last trip to the Final 4 was back in 2022. The Rams made three consecutive trips to the Class 4A semifinals, but weren’t able to advance to the title game in 2020, 2021 or 2022.

“When you play a No. 1 team you are going to get a fight,” Green Mountain coach Matteo Busnardo said. “I feel good about taken them down to a 5-point game. I’m just so proud of our young, scrappy group. We gained a lot of experience this year. Especially on this run down to the Coliseum.”

Junior Peyton Coil and sophomore Ella Cockrum both had a dozen points for the Rams as their 23-game winning streak came to an end.