It was exciting, heartbreaking and hard to watch. After the girls basketball team lost to St. Thomas Aquinas by one point, 23-22, in the state championship game on Saturday, March 9, everyone was crying with their faces buried in their hands. The second-place trophy was forgotten on the court as the girls walked back into the locker room. It seemed as though losing by one was harder than losing by 10, especially in the team’s first state championship game.
“I feel horrible,” senior forward Stephanie Lichtenauer said. “I’m proud of my team because we did get second at state and that is something to be proud of, but it’s just hard that we were so close to first. It’s definitely a lot harder because you know that you’re right there and that you’re good enough to win it.”
After such a tight loss, many players realize that it’s hard to look at the bright side. But they also know how successful this season has been.
“I’m mad, like any other person would be,” junior forward Carly Eaton said. “But we got second at state … We played awesome. We played our very best out there and that’s all we could ask for.”
The Jaguars had been down 15-8 at the half. But when Lichtenauer made her free throw on an and-one play with 6:22 remaining in the third quarter, the Jaguars were down only four.
Aquinas answered with four points and senior guard Tanner Tripp, who scored 14 of the Jaguars’ 22 points, ended the quarter with a three to cut the Aquinas lead to 21-16.
When Lichtenauer and Tripp combined to score five unanswered points at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the game was tied at 21-21. The student section was going crazy and a game that seemed so one-sided was finally within reach.
Head coach John McFall thinks the support of the fans helped motivate the players during their late-game run.
“That [run] shows our heart,” McFall said. “We have tremendous heart and tremendous young ladies. If you look at their shirt it says on the front that you’ve got to believe. That’s something we talk about all the time and that something that I’m about all the time. You’ve gotta believe.”
Aquinas would then quickly score a two-point bucket to regain the lead. Eaton hit one of two free throws with 3:32 remaining in the game to bring the Jaguars within one at 23-22. Neither team would score for the rest of the game.
“I am definitely proud of my team,” senior guard McKenzie Koch said. “It just sucks that we were that close.”
With one minute remaining, the Jaguars only had three team fouls. They decided to foul slowly, accumulating their seventh with only 11.4 seconds remaining. The Aquinas player missed the first of her one-and-one and the Jags regained possession. McFall called a timeout with 2.6 seconds left.
The ball was inbounded to Tripp, whose guarded shot hit the base of the rim and bounced off. Aquinas had won the state tournament in a matter of seconds.
“We had multiple options,” McFall said. “I would have liked to get the ball in deeper because I wanted to get the ball in deep and then attack the basket and either score a two-pointer or get fouled. They did a good job so [Tripp] wasn’t able to get the ball in deep. So she had to take a dribble or two and then attack … [But] whenever you lose, it hurts. Especially when you come so far.”
Even though she missed the shot, Tripp is glad that she was the one to have taken it.
“It means a lot because I know it means that coach McFall has a lot of trust in me and I know my teammates trusted in me but it just didn’t fall,” Tripp said. “But it means a lot.”
While the disappointed Jaguars accepted their second place trophy, the packed student section chanted their thanks to the seniors for their four years of effort.
“Our fans are awesome,” Eaton said. “The band, fans, all of our friends, all our peers that come and support us, they’re awesome. We love them.”
The tight game situation wasn’t new to the Jaguars, but their only other loss this season came against Blue Valley Northwest High School on Thursday, Dec. 13, 33-32.
“We’ve been in a lot of tight games,” McFall said. “We’re 22-2 and we’ve had a number of tight games and there’s two of them that we lost by one point. That’s our only two losses. I think that says a lot. And the loss to Blue Valley Northwest had a [three] at the top of the key and we missed it. And here we had a shot. It wasn’t the greatest shot, but we still had a chance to win it. That’s all you can do is try to get that push where you’ve got a chance.”
Despite her disappointment, Koch knows that a second-place finish is still a large accomplishment.
“It’s definitely awesome,” Koch said. “I expected us to do well this season but not nearly this well. It was very exciting. If someone had said [we would be in the state championship] at the beginning of the year, I would have been ecstatic and so happy. Almost unbelievable, I guess.”
Lichtenauer agrees.
“I wouldn’t have believed it,” Lichtenauer said. “I never expected us to get this far. I knew we had the potential, but it seemed like our wildest dreams.”
McFall also knows this teams’ potential, and knows that the game could have gone either way.
“I’m extremely pleased with their performance and their grit and the way they were right in there at the end,” McFall said. “We had a couple shots that, if they fall, we could very easily be right in there as state champions. To be that close I think is remarkable. Aquinas is an outstanding team. I think if you ask a lot of people they would have said it might even be a blowout and they were probably expecting to beat us by at least a dozen or so. But our girls don’t quit. My only regret would be that they didn’t quite get the state championship. Other than that, I’m not phased by any of it.”
Tripp feels that part of the team’s success this season was due to McFall.
“If it weren’t for him we would never be here,” Tripp said. “He’s honestly a blessing to our team and us as a basketball family. I’ve grown so close to him. He’s like family. I absolutely love him.”
As the school’s first team to advance to the state championship, Koch knows this season will have an impact on future teams.
“I think people will definitely remember Mill Valley and see them as a threat in basketball and not really look past them anymore,” Koch said. “I think we got to a place where the younger kids will want to get. We kind of showed them what it’s like to be here.”
McFall agrees that this team will leave an impression on the school.
“They have defined what I call ‘Lady Jag’ basketball and they’ve raised it to a new, high standard,” McFall said. “This [season] sets the standard of what we’re about. We did not ever shoot the ball well. We shot 28 percent the first night, 33 percent the next night, and 27 percent today, and almost won a state championship. So that tells you that we guard and have got some toughness. We held [Aquinas] to eight points in the second half, which is phenomenal because they weren’t trying to hold the ball. That’s what we’re about, toughness and defense. And these [seniors] are just tremendous. I’ve been telling everybody that they are good basketball players, but they are better people.”
Eaton was the only non-senior to play in the game, and she knows that the seniors will leave behind high expectations for next season.
“I love every single one of the seniors,” Eaton said. “I wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world. I’m so happy that I got to experience this with them … [But] I’m going to step up next year. I’m definitely going to. I’m going to be one of three or four seniors so I’ll have to step it up. We’re gonna kick some butt.”
As a graduating senior, Lichtenauer knows how thankful she is to be able to have shared this season with all of her teammates.
“I love all of them and I’m so proud of them and there’s no one else I would want to be on that court with,” Lichtenauer said.
Senior guard Mackenzie Conklin feels the same way.
“I have loved every minute playing with them and I’m going to miss them next year,” Conklin said.
Even though her season ended with a tough loss, Koch is looking on the bright side.
“The perfect way to end would have been to win the state championship,” Koch said. “But there’s nothing better than being at the state tournament and getting second.”
