LAFAYETTE — Nobody would mistake Mead’s 44-37 win Monday night over Centaurus for something headed to the Louvre. Even for abstract, beauty was often hard to see in what played out as a disjointed offensive mess.
Fine by the Mavericks.
CHSAA 5A No. 5 Mead proved resilient in a second straight win, rallying back from 10 down and overcoming a scoring drought that lasted 10 minutes and 31 seconds to escape with a victory over the sixth-ranked Warriors.
Darby Haley gave Mead its first lead since the first quarter with a bucket with 4:07 remaining and Centaurus scored just two points in the final quarter for its first loss of the season at home.
“They have great character and good poise about them in tight situations,” Mavs coach Mike Ward said. “When we can face a tough team and are down the whole game and come back and win, that’s facing adversity.”
Kyra Haan led MHS — a semifinalist last year — with 16 points, eight coming in a third quarter where she and Centaurus’ Laura Gensert provided most of the night’s offensive highlights.
Gensert hit four straight from beyond the arc in the frame for the Warriors, though Haan and the Mavericks always had an answer. After Gensert buried her final one of the quarter, Haan tied the game at 31-all with an NBA-range 3-pointer of her own.
Alexa Lorton gave Centaurus a 35-31 lead with four points to close the third before the Warriors followed with a scoring drought of 7:14. Georgianna Wurth iced things in the final minute for Mead, hitting four of her six free throws.
“I think one of the biggest things our coach tells us is to not scoreboard watch,” Haan said. “We really focused on just playing like we know how to play and playing as a team.”
In the opening half, Gensert completed a three-point play as part of a 14-0 run that gave the Warriors a 14-4 lead. Mead, which looked to struggle with Centaurus’ size and length, finally snapped a scoreless drought of 10:31, responding with eight straight to trail just 18-14 at the break.
Wurth finished with 12 points and Haley had 11 for the Mavericks (13-4, 5-3 6A/5A/4A NCAC), who lost three straight before beating Longmont Saturday. In their latest win, they were without their second-leading scorer in Brooklynn Charlo.
Gensert finished with 19 for Centaurus (13-3, 5-3), scoring 14 of her team’s 19 points in the second half. The Warriors proved as one of the classification’s best defensive teams but struggled finding another scorer besides Gensert.
“I keep thinking, I keep believing we’re going to get better,” Centaurus coach Chris Mischke said. “Once we start handling really good pressure teams, we’re going to be really hard to beat. If we can make it a halfcourt game, I don’t know if there are one or two teams better than us in the halfcourt in 5A.”
Mead is home against Greeley West Wednesday, while Centaurus hosts Silver Creek.
