The Nucla Mustangs remain undefeated on the basketball court. As of press time, and heading into their winter break, both the boys and girls teams are 8-0, and this last weekend, both teams won the Dove Creek tournament.
Friday, Dec. 19, the girls faced Telluride and beat them 67-25. Head coach for the girls Stan Galley said everybody suited got to play in that game for a little bit at least. Saturday, Dec. 20, the girls played Dove Creek for the championship and won 51-20.
Galley said the girls started out slow on Saturday, and it was pretty close in the first half. He said the team didn’t play the way they should’ve been playing, but things changed in the third quarter. After several steals, the Mustangs were in a 10-point lead and kept building from there.
Lantry Galley, Shay Snyder and Kadence Larsen were selected to the All Tournament Team. Coach added that sometimes teams have players that “don’t score a bunch of points,” but they’re “still a big factor.” He said that’s true of Maggie Andrews and Maria Camacho, who both play excellent defense.
He agreed morale is good, and the chemistry is working well. That’s something he wants to build on and take through the rest of the season.
It will be intense after winter break, with two to three games weekly, until the end of February. San Juan Basin League play also begins after the break.
While there are rules about practices on holidays, there will be some voluntary practices he’ll be holding to keep the girls conditioned. That’s something Galley believes in and teaches the girls.
“It seems like the last couple of weeks you can tell we’ve been in a lot better shape than our opponents,” he said. “When you can outwork your opponent, that’s a pretty good feeling.”
The guys are definitely celebrating too. They beat Telluride 52-29 in tournament play on Dec. 19, and then beat Monticello 59-47 for the championship game there in Dove Creek.
Head coach for the guys Mike Rummel agreed Mustang basketball is in a great place.
“Our season has started out looking pretty positive, being 8-0, going into the holiday break,” he said over the weekend. “Another year of maturity, a stronger mind set of playing more aggressive on defense and seeing that they have more in their tanks has proven to bring them more success.”
Rummel said not only has the team grown with the physical part of the game, they have matured with the mental part too, “which is just as important, if not more important.”
“We still have things that need work,” he said. “We have yet to play a solid, four full quarters of a game. When we get that figured out, we are going to be a scary team to play against.”
Rummel said he’s not sure the Mustangs, both boys and girls, have ever had this strong of a start together in the same year.
“If you are a sports fan, I encourage you to get on the school website or figure out another way to get a schedule and come watch and support your teams,” he said. “Let’s fill the bleachers for their home games.”
On the boys All Tournament Team were named Brycen Rummel, Holten McCluer and Austin Garvey.
