Lady Warriors 'three-peat' state basketball crown

Can you say “threepeat”?
In the most dramatic fashion imaginable, the Crofton Lady Warriors won their third consecutive Class C1 state girls basketball crown by beating Norfolk Catholic 47-46 on a last-second, buzzer-beating 3-point shot by senior Amber Hegge in the championship game.
The Lady Warriors move into elite company, joining six other Nebraska high schools to have won three consecutive state championships. Only Sandy Creek and South SiouxCity (6 each) and Battle Creek, West Point Central Catholic and South Sioux (4 each) stand ahead on the all-time list. The CHS program also moved into the top five for most state titles.
But the 2007 victory will last in the memories of players, coaches and fans for a long, long time. The dramatic finish that saw Hegge getting the ball with a shade over five seconds on the clock, and then weave around three Norfolk Catholic defenders before meeting a fourth defender Nicole Brungardt about three feet outside the 3-point arc on the CHS side of the court. The pair leaped straight up, and Brungardt appeared to have Hegge’s shot stopped. Then the Crofton senior bent her upper body to the right and let the ball go with one-tenth of a second left on the clock (television replays showed the ball gone in time). As the frames of the backboard glowed red, signifying the end of the game, the ball smacked against the backboard and plunged through the hoop securing the three points needed for Crofton to win.
Journal on 03.11.07 @ 09:38 PM CST [more..]