The BSM Girls Basketball team kicked off spring break in the best way: by bringing home a state championship. On Saturday March 18 the team faced Stewartville in the class AAA state finals at the Williams Arena where they won 66-60.

Heading into the state tournament, the team felt they had a lot to prove. Last year they lost their first game of the tournament, so they were eager to have a more successful experience. “It was a little nerve wracking at first because last year we went and we lost our first game and so going there this year, we were really excited but a little nervous because we didn’t want that to happen again,” Senior Captain Sierre Lumpkin said.

The team started off the tournament with a big comeback to beat DeLaSalle. This qualified them for the semi-finals where they beat Alexandria. The team felt mixed emotions as they were heading to the state finals but Sophomore Kendall McGee could no longer play due to an injury from the game. “We started out with a tough game and we were behind by quite a bit of points and so everyone was nervous and playing nervous. But then we came back in an exciting fashion and won that game. Then the second game, Kendall McGee gets a devastating injury. That was the bittersweet part. We won that game but losing her and everything she did for our team made us a little sad although we were heading to the state tournament finals,” Head Coach Tim Ellefson said.

The state championship game started off strong as BSM held the lead. Stewartville eventually caught up and got ahead. However, BSM rallied and made a comeback to pull off the win. “Stewartville was beating us for a little bit in the game. We all were a little bit nervous. So to finish the game, play hard, score, and do our best as we all tried our hardest to win, it was just the best feeling,” Lumpkin said.

As soon as the buzzer went off signaling the end of the game, the team ran to each other to celebrate. Meanwhile, the many BSM fans in the stands clapped and cheered loudly. “It was amazing. It was like a rush through all of us. We were just so excited that we finished the season with a win… we all ran to each other and hugged each other and celebrated,” Lumpkin said.

It took some work for the team to become state champion players. At the beginning of the season the team struggled to work together. As the season went on they became a more cohesive team that worked well together. “The biggest task was trying to get them to play together… Although we had a lot of talent, they didn’t really know how to play with each other. As the year went on, we started to figure that out and then the girls started to thrive,” Ellefson said.

After a successful season, the team hopes to stay on top for next year. They have young talent that they hope will continue the program’s success. “We still have enough talent to be at the top… working more on those relationships and working together and being cohesive, those will be our short term goals. But long term we want to be there again with the chance to win the state title,” Ellefson said.