Making a STATEment

By: Austin Anderson

It seemed like a scene out of a movie for the CFHS women’s basketball team. They were matched up on the road against a Cedar Rapids Kennedy team that had already defeated them earlier in the season, but first year Tiger head coach Gregg Groen had told his team to be ready for the rematch moments after they suffered the defeat earlier in the season.

The Tigers came out ready but found themselves down heading into the fourth quarter with all the momentum in the favor of the opponent. Doubts circulated throughout the well traveled CF student section, but the team on the court battled back to produce a tie ballgame, 49-49, with less than a minute to go and one final possession.

After the original play failed to pan out, the Tigers ended up in a weave, ultimately finding the ball to be in sophomore Ally Conrad’s hands. The lane opened up and Conrad didn’t just send the ball through the hoop for the win, but sent her team to the state tournament for the first time since 2008.

“We just wanted this so bad, and I just knew I needed to get the ball through the hoop somehow,” Conrad said, who had just four shots on the night, none bigger than the final. “When I saw it go through, it seemed surreal because that was the moment all of us knew that we had made it to State.”

The CF fans rushed the court as the 18-5 Tigers are headed to Wells Fargo on Wednesday, March 4, to take on a strong 21-2 Waukee team that just beat Sioux City East by 37 on its way to State.

The CFHS players’ phones immediately started buzzing and probably still haven’t stopped. Congratulatory tweets completely filled up players’ timelines, and senior Adrienne Boettger opened her phone to 31 different texts from people that congratulated her on her team’s trip to State.

Walking the halls after the win was anything but uneventful. Congrats were shouted in the halls and the classroom by classmates and teachers alike. Another perk was getting Wednesday off from practice, which was one of the many things Groen’s players like of their new head coach. Groen and his assistant write handwritten notes to each player after the game talking about a wide variety of things. “He really reads each player and coaches to individuals and their strengths and what helps them learn personally,” leading scorer and rebounder Boettger said. “He is a great coach and friend.”

Everything seemed to feel like it was on the big screen from the game winning shot and the court storming to getting a crack at the recently elusive state tournament. “I’ve always looked at the banners in the gym and dreamed about adding one but never thought it would actually happen,” Boettger said. “This season has definitely been a dream come true and something I will never