One Down...

It's been a busy two days as the Royal Nation sent the girls hoops team off with a pep rally yesterday and today were there to cheer them on for their Division 5 state semi-final game against undefeated Chippewa Falls McDonell.

First, it was exciting that the state tournament was back at the Resch Center in Green Bay. Last year, due to the lovely pandemic, they had all 5 girls divisions playing at different locations so our girls won the state championship in La Crosse. 

As defending state champions, they still had to work hard to get back to the Final Four arena. And they did. And did it well! With a whole lotta new talent to strengthen the team. It's been a pleasure to watch them work hard as a team – without egos and ball hogs – just sharing and passing and supporting each other on the way to each victory. What a treat!

Jim and I took the day off so we could go over there and watch the game this morning. My friend and amazing photographer Jo Ann and I were both privileged to get photo passes so we could shoot the action and emotion. These girls deserve pictures from all angles.

And there certainly was emotion.

It took awhile for the Lady Royals to hit their groove. But we were able to catch up and have a lead at halftime. We managed to string several shots together in the second half that gave us a 10 or 12-point lead at one point. But the Macks came back and kept it within 3 points for many, many, too many minutes.

With a minute to go, we were down by 1 point. Then a girl who actually cried after our sectional win because she was disappointed in her performance sunk a layup to put Assumption up by 1! I hope that erased those negative memories! She's always aggressive and amazing to me!

The last minute of the game was the longest EVER. With some missed shots by McDonell in the last 15 seconds, our Lady Royals held on to win 36-35 and will advance the championship game tomorrow at 11:05 a.m. against Randolph – another undefeated team. 

We drove home right after the game since Jim is chief dishwasher for his church's fish fry during Lent and had to report for duty! We'll head back to Green Bay tomorrow morning to see if our girls bring home a gold ball or a silver one. Either way, it's a victory to be one of the two best teams in the state this year. 

Still, I'm kinda partial to gold, myself.

Let's go, Royals! So proud to be a fan.