Girls basketball: Mead returns to Sweet 16 with win over Northfield

LONGMONT — Mead is headed back to high school’s Sweet 16, poised with the top deep threat in the bracket and a defense that is downright pesky.

The Class 4A fifth-seeded Mavericks stifled No. 28 Northfield all night long Friday, using a harassing defensive effort en route to a 50-26 blowout victory.

Whether it was forcing mayday looks from the Nighthawks (followed by a chorus of “airball, airball” from the student section), or turning steals into easy fast-break points, the visiting team had little response.

In fact, the containment was often so effective early on, Northfield struggled to push the ball past midcourt before a 10-second violation.

“That gave us so much energy, and we knew we had them where we wanted them,” freshman Brooklynn Charlo said. “And then it was kind of a domino effect. It went downhill for them. Uphill for us.”

Mead’s offense, meanwhile, clicked just fine — even without its usual barrage of 3-point swishes.

Charlo led with 14 points, Maddox Boston had 12, and Edie Morrow 11 as Mead (19-5) reached the 4A Round of 16 for a second straight season.

Charlo had four points as part of an early 9-0 run to put the Mavericks up 16-5. The spurt stretching from midway in the first quarter to the second included only a few shot attempts from the Nighthawks as turnovers became the norm with the Mavs pressing.

Later, Morrow scored seven straight for her team as the lead grew to 31-13 by the third, and then it swelled into the 20s midway through the fourth.

Northfield (14-11) was held to single-digit scoring in each quarter. The 26 points were its fewest points in a game since late January.

“Defense has been an emphasis all year,” Mead coach JR Sagner said. “It’s something we feel we can always rely on. Where some nights we don’t shoot the best, like tonight, defensively we can still control the game and keep teams out of reach.”

It was Mead’s second win over the Nighthawks in the schools’ histories, the last coming in the opening round of the 2020 postseason when many of the now juniors and seniors helped propel the Mavs to a 62-28 victory.

And it came despite Mead’s fewest made 3s since it also hit just three in a late January loss to Windsor. The Mavericks led 4A coming into the night with 164 on the season.

With its eyes set on a deep run, Mead will host the winner of No. 12 Thompson Valley/No. 21 Palmer Ridge in the Sweet 16 March 1. The Mavs beat the Eagles by four 14 days ago and have not played the Bears in recent history.

“Our eyes are set on the (Denver) Coliseum, the Final Four,” Charlo said. “Once we get there, anything can happen. That’s been the goal since the beginning, so we just have worked every day to get there.”