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St. Mary’s girl’s hoops denied chance at repeat

On Thursday night, one of the most dominant runs in state history came to a premature end.

The St. Mary's Pirates, looking for their third straight title, had their mission undercut when CHSAA cancelled the state tournament due to concerns over the Coronavirus.

While the cancellation doesn't diminish anything the girls accomplished, they wanted more.

The day began with the Pirates beating Vanguard 52-24 to advance to the final four. It ended late Thursday night with the news their season was over after the tournament was cancelled.

"It was heartbreaking, said senior Rachel Wilcox. "It felt like something that we could've had that was right there just got ripped out of our hands and we had no control over it. We didn't know what to do. We didn't know how to feel. All the seniors were kind of devastated about it. We felt crushed."

"Our goal was to get that three peat," said senior Seneca Hackley. "We had talked about it since the beginning of the season till now. All of our hard work was building up to this. We were waiting for this moment. We were waiting for playoffs, especially me. I was really excited for the playoffs. Just to have that taken away is so frustrating. So frustrating."

St. Mary's looked primed to win a third-straight title. They made minced meat of every opponent who dared get to in their way. Their wins came by an average of 44 points. The pirates took no prisoners, and a three peat seemed inevitable. It may have been the best St. Mary's team ever.

"It's close," said senior Josephine Howery. "It was a great team, and we were a great team. That's what makes it hard. We had such a great year."

"We, as seniors especially, grew a lot together over the past three years," Wilcox said. "Putting it all together in our senior year definitely made us stronger, and the best versions of ourselves."

St. Mary's players signed a petition to CHSAA that has almost 3,000 signatures. The goal is to get CHSAA to postpone, as opposed to cancel the tournament.

"I feel like they should either postpone it and do the state tournament at some other location at some point, and get the four teams down here and try to play an unofficial kind of thing, or go by scores," Howery said.

Hackley agrees. "I feel like it needs to be played out, at some point. Even if it's postponed until later in April, I feel like it needs to be played out."

If it is the last time the girls play together, the run ends the way it started: with pure and total dominance. St. Mary's already won two titles and none of the seniors lost a playoff game in their final three years. Nothing can change that.

"I wouldn't trade it for the world," Howery said. "I've been so blessed to have the accomplishments I've had as an individual, but also as a team. It's just been quite a ride and I won't forget it for the rest of my life."

"Not a lot of people do that at all," Wilcox said. "Knowing that we've done that pretty much proves that we could have done it again."

Hackley values the legacy she and her teammates left behind."Being one of the most successful teams to ever come through that school feels really good."

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Danny Mata

Danny Mata is a sports anchor/reporter for KRDO. Learn more about Danny here.

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