Mustang basketball teams each finish third in league

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photo credit Kim Bodemann Junior Shawn Mahorney (dark jersey #11) goes up over Kason Brown to score on a lay up in the Mustang victory of the Wildcats.

WG Booster Club President
Lady Mustangs
The Lady Mustangs finished third in their league and put some miles and long hours on the road over the last week. They finished their regular season up making trips to DeBeque on Friday and North Park on Saturday. The team also traveled to Cedaredge, who ultimately finished third in the league sitting at 18-1, on Tuesday for the first round of playoffs.

Taking the outside jump shot, Junior Jacey Murphy (dark jersey) takes a jumper against North Park. The Mustangs won a close one, 49-47.  photo credit Kim Bodemann
Taking the outside jump shot, Junior Jacey Murphy (dark jersey)
takes a jumper against North Park. The Mustangs won a close
one, 49-47. photo credit Kim Bodemann

The regular season ended on a high note, first successfully beating the Dragons, 59- 38. During this game, the lady Mustangs took the lead early and never fell behind. At half time the ladies were leading 30-13. In the second half, they maintained their offense but let the Dragons offense double their score from the first half. This was also an opportunity to let the entire varsity team gain some valuable game time.

Gabby Willson lead the scoring with 18 points, had two assists, and six steals. Peyton Bodemann scored 12 points, brought in 11 rebounds, and had three assists, four steals and two blocks. Adding nine points was Rheann Pesch and had two steals. Emily Vance and Kayla DeSanti each added five points as DeSanti also had six rebounds. Charlee Manguso scored four points as Hailey McNichols, Jerrika Jones and Sydney Ritschard each added two points. McNichols also had four rebounds, and two blocks, and Ritschard registered one block. Anael Castillo captured five rebounds.

Then on Saturday, it was senior night for the North Park Wildcats when West Grand came to town. In a fairly evenly played game the Mustangs found themselves down by one point as the end of the first quarter but worked hard and played some good defense to gain a seven point lead going into half time, 27-20. During the third period the teams traded baskets as the Wildcats came out with one extra basket. The fourth quarter got very exciting as the Wildcats took the lead with one minute 22 seconds left and was killing the clock, when West Grand caused a turn over and went down to score tying the game up. North Park’s ball. The Mustangs worked hard getting the ball back with 15 seconds left, Coach Liz Bauer took a time out. Coming out of the time out the ladies kept their cool, as Willson brought the ball down, passed to Jacey Murphy, who passed into Bodemann as she scored the game winning basket. The Lady Mustangs took the final buzzer, 49-47, and they finished their season 12-7. The team shot 41% from two point territory. Bodemann scored 18 points and had 11 rebounds, two steals and an assist. Pesch added 13 points, a steal, and a block. Willson had four points, four assists and three steals. Also scoring four points each was DeSanti and McNichols who also got four rebounds. Jones, Castillo and Murphy each scored a basket and Murphy added two assist, and a block.

The JV team finished their season undefeated taking down North Park 36-26.

Finally, in an unfortunate early end to the playoffs, the Mustangs fell to the Cedaredge Bruins, in a 39-49 final. In this game, it was the second quarter that was the difference in the game. Too many turnovers and little offense is what let the Bruins outscore the Mustangs by eight points in the period. With only two points separating the teams at the end of one, West Grand went into half time down 10- 20. The second half was a wash, with the Mustangs taking one period by one point and the Bruins taking another period by one point. There was lots of excitement in West Grand fans when their team had pulled within five points with a little less than two minutes to go, but with Cedaredge starting to stall, a couple of easy missed baskets by West Grand and fouling to stop the clock, the Bruins cut the run short and were up at the final buzzer.

Coach Bauer commented, “Cedaredge was a great opponent for us. They are tough and we knew that going in. We are a tough team, too! This was the most focused I have seen the girls in preparation for a game. Our defensive intensity was great. Our defense kept us in the game. However, we had a stretch of about seven minutes where we didn’t score in the second quarter, and yet we were still knocking at the door in the fourth. We showed some grit tonight.”

The team had a high 71% from the free throw line. Bodemann finished the night with 16 points and 15 rebounds, had a steal and block. Pesch added 13 points and two steals. Willson scored six points, had four assists, two steals, and a block. McNichols and DeSanti each added two points and five rebounds apiece as McNichols also had two blocks.

Coach Bauer said, “The end of the season is always tough. I have enjoyed each minute of this season and hope the girls feel the same. I am extremely proud of each and every girl on the roster. They are beautiful young women who I am honored to coach. We say goodbye to a great senior, Charlee Manguso. We all appreciate her dedication to this team. Thank you to all of the parents and fans this season. I am proud to be a Mustang!”

Boys Basketball
The Mustang basketball team finished their regular season with a 12-7 record and took third place in league. It was a busy week as the team had three away match ups, starting Friday in Debeque. This was a game that the Mustangs dominated the entire time. After a huge first period scoring 25 points to the Dragons five, West Grand continued to build and took the game in a 71-38 final. This was a good opportunity to work on all aspects of the game and work out some kinks as well as all the players getting some game time.

photo credit Kim Bodemann Junior Shawn Mahorney (dark jersey #11) goes up over Kason Brown to score on a lay up in the Mustang victory of the Wildcats.
photo credit Kim Bodemann
Junior Shawn Mahorney (dark jersey #11) goes up over Kason Brown to score on a
lay up in the Mustang victory of the Wildcats.

The team ended with a 56% shooting from two point range and an overall 52% shooting. Ivan Mendoza finished the game with 18 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, three steals and four blocks. Also having 18 points was Kody Ekren. Scoring eight points each was David Gaura and Garrett Miller. Brady Gore finished with seven points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals. Jake Bentler added four points, five assists, and two steals. Rounding out the scoring, Robert Amaro, Sean Mahorney, Luis Dominguez, and Austin Stauffer each added two points, as Stauffer also brought in five rebounds.

The boys JV won their game.

The following night, in Walden, the Mustangs took on the Wildcats for their senior night, as it was the last regular season game for both teams. It was another explosive first period for the Mustangs, taking control early, jumping out to a 24-10 lead. North Park didn’t have their first points until the midway through the quarter. The defense wasn’t giving anything up. The second quarter was evenly played by both teams, each scoring 17 points. Hitting the floor after halftime, the boys had another strong quarter scoring 16 points as their defense held North Park to only three points for the period. The final quarter was fairly even, but West Grand had built a good lead and went on to win, 68-42.

It was another good shooting night, as the team shot 48% from two point range but at a high 68% from 3-pt land. Stauffer had a good night scoring 14 points, and had five rebounds and a block. Gore scored 12 points, and had three rebounds.

Both Mendoza and Dominguez added 11 points each, Mendoza also picked up 10 rebounds and had two blocks. Ekren added eight points as Gaura scored six and had two steals. Adding three points and four rebounds was Mahorney, as Bentler scored two and Josh O’Hotto scored a free throw and brought in four rebounds, and had a block. Amaro had three assists.

The JV team lost their game 42-49. Playoff started on Tuesday and West Grand would have to travel to Cedaredge to take on the Bruins that also ended with a 12-7 record, but in second place on their side of the league. With the Glenwood Canyon closed the team had to travel the long way through Meeker two times in four days. This game would be a good challenge for West Grand, but knowing they could compete for the next round. But, the evening didn’t go as all had hoped for. The team had a rough night with some costly turnovers and some good shots that just didn’t fall. Coach Leo Pesch said, we knew Cedaredge would be a good challenge for us and we were up for it. However, it just wasn’t a good night for us. It is always hard when your season comes to an end, but I am very proud of the boys and this team and the effort they put in all season. I will miss Ivan and Kody and what they brought to the team. For the rest of the boys, be ready to get going this summer, putting in the extra time needed to be successful next season.

Mendoza and Ekren played in their last high school game. Mendoza finished with 13 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Ekren had four points and two steals. Gore scored eight points, had seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. Adding four points each was Bentler and Gaura. Bentler also had two assists and two steals as Gaura had three steals. Stauffer scored two points and brought in five rebounds, as Mahorney added a basket.

Coach Pesch would like to thank all the parents and fans for all the support.