20 seasons, and 20 unforgettable memories of covering girls' basketball in Iowa

They didn't have to ask me twice.

It was the summer of 1997, and Bob Hilton had announced his retirement after the softball season. I had been at The Gazette for a year and a half, and my winter beat was University of Iowa women's basketball.

Would I like to switch to girls' basketball in the winter and add prep softball in the summer?

Yes. Absolutely. Please. Yes.

As they say, time flies, and it has been a blast. So after countless national anthems, bags of popcorn, four-color pens drained, questions asked and deadlines met, here we are: the 20th season on the beat for The Gazette.

I've seen buzzer-beaters, heartbreakers, double-overtimes and blowouts. I've dealt with hundreds of amazing kids and coaches, and only a few jerks along the way.

I thought about compiling an all-double-decade team. But certainly, somebody deserving would get left out and, as you'll see, this is going to be lengthy enough as it is. So I'm settling on 20 memories in 20 seasons. We'll go chronologically.

Climb aboard.

1. The First Games

A look into the basement file cabinet shows my first night of girls' basketball coverage was a Thanksgiving-weekend tournament at Cedar Rapids Washington, Nov. 28, 1997. North Scott whipped Iowa City West, 67-40, then Washington (Iowa) downed the host Warriors, 59-48, behind a freshman named Stephanie Rich (more on her later).

I don't have much recollection of those games, but I do remember how they were transmitted to the office, plugging 'couplers' into the two ends of a pay phone, and hooking that up into one of those old Radio Shack TRS-80 computers that we then considered a luxury.

2. Solon's M&M Girls

 

Girls' five-player basketball was unclassed until 1993, and there wasn't much room for the small schools to flourish at the state level. Once the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union implemented a four-class structure (and did away with six-on-six) in 1993, Solon became the first small-school power, owning regular residency in the Eastern Iowa Hawkeye Conference penthouse through the 1990s.

The Spartans won a Class 2A title in 1994, then went back to back in 1997 and 1998 behind Ed Hansen's relentless running, pressing game that featured Lindsey Meder (who later starred at the University of Iowa) and Katie Miller (a Northern Iowa recruit).

The '98 Spartans were the first of 17 girls' basketball state championship teams that I have covered.

3. The Blizzard of 1998

With the anticipation of a winter storm on the first day of the 1998 state tournament, IGHSAU officials contacted all of the Monday participants and brought them to Des Moines two days ahead of gameday.

'We might not have any spectators, but we're going to have the games,' said E. Wayne Cooley, then the executive director of the Union.

This sportswriter made the perilous trek to Des Moines on Monday morning. Interstate-380 was clear, but once the route shifted west along I-80, it got dicey and stayed that way all the way. I counted more than 120 cars in the ditch, and mine nearly became another when I started spinning on the embankment of the 80/235 offramp.

Normally a two-hour trip, this excursion took nearly five hours as I missed all of the first game and half of the second. Every year since, I have driven out on Sunday night.

Area teams Valley Community and Iowa Mennonite played that first day. Neither brought more than 100 fans.

4. O'Neil Becomes Scoring Queen, For A While

Cedar Rapids Kennedy's Anne O'Neil was a scoring machine from the start, averaging 26.3 points per game as a freshman.

The points came in bunches for four years, setting the table for a memorable night at Dubuque Hempstead.

O'Neil broke Sara Stribe's state career scoring record with a second-quarter free throw, and the game was halted for five minutes as she received the game ball (from Hempstead) and a plaque (from Kennedy).

O'Neil — who would go on to play at Illinois, then Iowa State — finished her prep career with 2,494 points, a career average of 28.0 points per game.

'The record is great, but I'm just raising the bar for somebody else to break it,' O'Neil said.

Three years later, somebody did. Rock Valley's Deb Remmerde now holds the record with 2,756 points. Pocahontas Area's Elle Ruffridge is making a charge at Remmerde's mark. She has 2,354 points heading into the holiday break.

5. Rich Kisses Assumption Goodbye

Long before Georges Niang blew a kiss at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, there was Stephanie Rich at Veterans Auditorium.

One of the state's all-time greats, Rich led Washington (Iowa) to three Class 3A state championships from 1999 to 2001, plus a runner-up finish in 1998. The Demons racked up a 96-10 four-year record during her stay.

Now, about that kiss.

Washington was nursing a four-point lead against Davenport Assumption in the 2001 state final when Rich was undercut on a third-quarter layup attempt. As Rich laid under the basket, Assumption students hooted in delight.

'It made me mad,' said Rich, generally a mild-mannered, delightful kid. 'And it made me want to rub their faces in it.'

Washington outscored Assumption 24-12 the rest of way and won, 52-36. As she left the floor with victory secure, she blew a kiss to the Assumption students.

Rich was Miss Iowa Basketball 2001, finished with 2,206 career points and eventually played at Wisconsin.

6. Xavier's Odd-Year Magic

Cedar Rapids Xavier became a girls' basketball power immediately upon its birth in 1998. The Saints made their first trip to state in 2000, reaching the big-school semifinals. They reached the 3A finals in 2002, losing to Perry, then broke through with three titles in five years (2003, 2005 and 2007).

Xavier was loaded in 2003 and 2005, compiling records of 24-2 and 26-1, respectively, and handling Atlantic and Keokuk in the finals. The first title run was an emotional one. The Saturday before the state tournament, the home of sophomore Maggie O'Connell was destroyed in a fire. The family was away from home at the time, but all the contents were destroyed, and both of the family's pets perished.

'When I'm playing, I don't think about anything else,' O'Connell said after a state quarterfinal win. 'Right now, that's a good thing.'

While the '03 and '05 titles were expected, the 2007 crown was a surprise. Xavier began the postseason at 12-9, then caught fire in a run that culminated in a 52-43 championship conquest of Spirit Lake.

'We were just trying to survive,' Coach Tom Lilly said. 'Now I'm standing here next to this big trophy.'

7. Rivalry Saturday Is Born

The idea was first hatched during Jeff Wallace's first administration at Iowa City Regina, moving some of the biggest rivalries to the U.S. Cellular Center. Six games, one court, one day.

Rivalry Saturday made its debut on Dec. 18, 2004, and has been an annual occurrence since. The 13th installment is set for Jan. 7.

Scot Moenck took over the event when he was hired at Maquoketa Valley, and the scope expanded from conference rivalries to intersectional matchups. Teams have come from Spirit Lake to Keokuk, from Waukon to Ballard. Sixty-one different schools have competed, and six new ones are slated for their debuts next month.

When the U.S. Cellular Center was being renovated post-flood, the event was moved to Cedar Rapids Washington for a year, and then to Cornell College. It has expanded to an eight-game format.

Linn-Mar and Springville have made the most appearances — seven apiece. They'll both be back in January.

8. No Comment In Delhi

From 2000 through 2004, Maquoketa Valley had the corner on the Tri-Rivers Conference, winning more than 70 consecutive league games, most of them in lopsided fashion.

Tom Pestka coached the Wildcats in those days. Successful coach. Grouchy.

In the 2004-05 season, Anamosa, Monticello and Cascade joined the league, providing more depth and tougher competition. The 2004-05 race came down to a showdown in the final night at Delhi between Maquoketa Valley and Anamosa.

The Raiders won it, 38-36, and after talking to the winners in a hallway, it was time to find Pestka.

The search ended, him at a desk in his office. He glanced up from his score book.

'No comment,' he deadpanned.

'What?' I said, assuming he was joking.

He wasn't.

'No comment,' he repeated. 'Get out.'

And thus ended our final meaningful conversation.

9. Miss You, Mike

Before there was social media, before there was Quik Stats, we folks in the media relied on IGHSAU information secretary Mike Henderson to supply us with missing scores and relevant statistics.

When he died of a heart attack at age 63 on Dec. 30, 2004, it was a jolt — for the IGHSAU, and for the thousands of coaches and dozens of media who called him a friend. His comprehension of facts, figures, names and history was unmatched.

'I can't imagine tomorrow without him,' former IGHSAU executive director Troy Dannen said hours after learning of Henderson's death. 'Mike's invincible. He's not supposed to die. He is why the Girls Union is what it is. He was a walking book of knowledge.'

His duties at the Union from 1973 until his death included rankings, statistics (including the Hoop Scoop media supplement at the state tournament), media relations and much more. He also assisted the IHSAA and the Drake Relays.

10. Farewell To 'The Barn'

Veterans Auditorium hosted the winter state tournaments (wrestling, girls' basketball and boys' basketball) for the final time in 2005. For the girls, it ended a run of 50 tournaments in 51 years (a conflict with a national bowling tournament moved it to McElroy Auditorium in 1962) in the old brick building known as The Barn. In the six-on-six glory days of the 1960s and '70s, it was sold out, all week long.

In the first game at Vets in 1955, Eldora defeated Clarence, 58-48. In the final game, Ankeny beat Cedar Rapids Washington, 65-57, for the Class 4A championship, an unprecedented fourth in a row.

Trivia answer: Washington's Micha Mims, now the coach at Mount Mercy University, made the last field goal at Vets.

 

11. Hello, Wells Fargo

In 2006, the tournament moved across 3rd Avenue in Des Moines to Wells Fargo Arena. The first day was an adventure.

Instead of benches, players and coaches had individual chairs and snapped up once they stood up. More than one unfortunate soul landed on their fannies. The next day, the seats were fastened so they stayed in the 'sit' position.

Still, the new arena earned mostly positive reviews.

'It's nice having a little more room from the fans,' Treynor Coach Gail Hartigan said. 'They're not right on top of you.'

Trivia answer: Bailey Schechinger of Manilla IKM scored the first basket (and committed the first foul) in the new arena, and IKM won the first game, 63-45, over Southeast Webster.

12. Washington's Three Amigos

They began playing basketball together at a young age. At Cedar Rapids Washington, Katelin Oney, K.K. Armstrong and Micha Mims accomplished just about everything — except a state championship.

The trio played with flair and a fast pace, leading Washington to four MVC division championships and a four-year record of 88-14. The Warriors reached the Class 4A championship games in 2005, 2006 and 2008, and the semifinals in 2007.

As sophomores, they played one of the most entertaining games ever at Wells Fargo, outsprinting Sioux City North, 75-69, in the first round.

The season-ending heartbreak seemed to get a little bigger every year, though. And it was greatest after a 48-46 loss to Iowa City High in 2008, when Virginia Johnson scored at the buzzer.

'We were as close as we could be without winning,' Coach Frank Howell said. 'These kids invested their childhood and high school years into winning a championship, and they just fell short.'

But, man, they were entertaining.

All three are now coaching at the college level.

13. Orioles Take Flight (The Original)

Rarely does a small school assemble such a talented cast.

Springville has done it twice. Two casts, two coaches, two eras.

The first one came in the late 2000s, when the Orioles captured the 2008 Class 1A championship — the first area 1A titlist in the first 15 years of four-class basketball — answering every challenge that tournament regular Newell-Fonda could muster in a 67-60 triumph.

'Every time they got close, we were able to get the ball inside (to all-tournament captain Katie Eiben),' Coach Brian O'Donnell said. The dream of a repeat fell just short; Ackley AGWSR dethroned the Orioles in the 2009 final, 28-27, and it was assumed Springville would fall off the radar.

It didn't for long.

14. A Grand Night For Klinge

On Jan. 2, 2010, Gene Klinge became the winningest coach in state history when Waukon defeated MFL MarMac for his 939th career victory.

And thus began another chase, a quest for 1,000.

Klinge was stuck at 999 through late January 2013, suffering a pair of losses and having another game snowed out.

The magical night came Jan. 31, 2013, a bitterly cold evening in which the start time was bumped up two hours. I made the long ride north with photographer Jim Slosiarek and KCRG's John Campbell, and we arrived just before tipoff.

Daneshia Snitker and Alyssa Collins combined for 60 points in an 88-60 home win over MFL MarMac, a win that carried extra meaning for Klinge, a Monona native.

'A thousand wins, more than anything, means a lot of cold feet on the floor of yellow buses through the years,' Klinge said.

Klinge's career ended in March 2014, after 52 seasons, when his contract was not renewed. His final record was 1,009-252. He took 16 teams to state, including a championship with Waukon in 2004.

15. Perfect Lions, Unlikely Hero

There's little debate that Kiah Stokes was the area's best post in the past 20 seasons, and probably ever. I once witnessed an 18-point, 20-rebound, 18-block performance by the future UConn Husky and WNBA player.

She earned a state championship in her junior season (2009-10), registering 20 points, 18 boards and six blocks in a 38-35 win over Des Moines East.

But the shot of the game — the season — came from guard Kiley Haines.

With the game tied at 33-33 and just over a minute remaining, Haines got the ball on the right wing. She hesitated, shot it and made it.

'To be honest, I was surprised it went in,' she said.

Stokes made two late free throws to clinch the win.

'This is everything I thought it would be, and more,' she said.

16. Expansion To Five Classes

When the state abolished six-player basketball in 1993, a four-class format was adopted, and it remained that way for just about two decades.

Then, before the 2012-13 season, girls' basketball was expanded to a five-class format (as were volleyball, softball and golf).

'Eight more teams and communities have the opportunity to reap the positive life experiences and prestige of qualifying for the state tournament,' then-IGHSAU executive director Mike Dick said.

Yes, but it makes for some long days at the state tournament. The first two days consist of seven games each, with the day beginning at 10 a.m. and ending after 10:30 p.m. — with no breaks.

A return to four classes can't come soon enough.

17. Xavier Edges Harlan In A Classic

 

I've been asked many times about the best game I've ever covered, and it's a difficult answer. But considering the stakes, it's hard to surpass the 2013 Class 4A championship game between Cedar Rapids Xavier and Harlan.

'There are no words to give this game justice,' Xavier's Ashley Stulken said after the Saints' 53-52 triumph — the fourth title for the school and for Coach Tom Lilly. 'Harlan was very good. We had the poise at the end, and Kayla made a play.'

Kayla Armstrong scored on a running, acrobatic shot with 8 seconds left to put the Saints ahead, then deflected the ball on Harlan's last, frantic rush upcourt.

Armstrong was the all-tournament captain, shooting 10-of-12 from the floor and scoring 23 points.

Xavier finished 17-9, but like 2007, the Saints were golden when it counted.

'The heart of this team was incredible,' Armstrong said.

18. Lynx Slay A Giant

It won't go down as the biggest upset in state tournament history (that honor would probably go to Audubon, which pulled a 2006 2A quarterfinal shocker over Davenport Assumption). But North Linn's overtime win over Western Christian in a 2015 2A semifinal certainly was a surprise.

'It's amazing, so incredible,' Morgan Boer said after the Lynx prevailed, 73-71, to end Western's three-year title run. 'I have tingles all over my body.'

The Lynx had eventual Miss Iowa Basketball 2015 winner Nicole Miller on their side, and she netted 30 points. But it was Katie Kurt who wielded the dagger, a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1:20 left in overtime.

The grueling win took a toll. North Linn fell to Unity Christian, 69-40, in the championship game the following day. But it doesn't diminish the day they took down the champs.

19. Orioles Take Flight (The Sequel)

Six years after its previous two-year fling with fame, Springville was at it again.

The Orioles had a new coach (Nate Sanderson) and a new, young nucleus (led by Mikayla Nachazel and Rylee Menster) that prided itself on unselfish play.

Springville made it to the 1A state final in 2015, falling short against Newell-Fonda, 45-43. It returned the following season and played an epic championship game with Turkey Valley.

Alyssa Jaeger was fouled with 3.2 seconds left and calmly sank both free throws to give the Orioles a 49-48 win, avenging their only loss of the season.

Nachazel and Menster are juniors now, and so is Jaeger, and this could be a sustained run of glory.

20. Yet To Be Written

Half of season No. 20 remains, so we'll leave this space for a memory yet to come. And it will.

Will one (or two) of the Iowa City teams grab a championship trophy? Can Springville repeat? Marion seems destined to win a title someday — and maybe multiple titles. Does that dynasty take seed this March?

It's been a memorable ride, and I can't wait to see what awaits in the next 20 years.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com