Coach Sly: Saluting the North Stars
Sly's taking absolutely nothing away from a Grade-A, clutch comeback win for the Geneva girls basketball team. It was a give-you-chills rally staged by a tremendous team.
The Vikings are 29-0. 'Nuff said.
But Sly can't help but feel bad ... make that awful ... for coach Colleen Brennan's North Stars. North had Geneva in scalding-hot water Thursday night, up double digits late in the third quarter, only to fall on a basket by Geneva in the closing seconds of the regional final.
Between Jenna Bell's battering play in the paint, some huge three-pointers by Tess Fischer, Dana Sibley and Kiley Hackbarth and fantastic hustle throughout the night, North deserved something great to happen.
Instead, North got a little too large a dose of Lauren Wicinski, and heartache.
North wasn't flawless. The Stars' free-throw shooting wasn't so hot, and they turned it over a couple times late in the game. But the good far outweighed the bad, and they were tantalizingy close to what might have been the most glorious win in program history.
To their credit, the Stars showed without a doubt that they thought they could beat Geneva, and they played like it.
Sly hopes the loss doesn't cheat the Stars out of the pride they ought to be feeling for an effort that should give their fans goosebumps, even in defeat.
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