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Back in the early 1980s in Colorado, our small town, Catholic high school basketball team surprised everyone, even themselves, by making it to the state finals. The team was a motley bunch of lanky white kids and one black kid, none of whom were great players, but who worked amazingly together as a team. They had a couple of good shooters, some really good defenders, and a coach who believed in the team and made them all think they were better than they were. He taught them to reach for the stars and actually catch them a time or two.

Ours was a small high school that played other small high schools. We were used to small gyms and hometown courts complete with very supportive crowds and rivalries. Parents were at every game; not just parents of the players, but parents of most of the 300 students in the small school. I always had a good view of the games because I was a cheerleader. I'd always scoffed at cheerleaders, as I was more the tomboy type, but our cheerleading squad wasn't the prissy kind; we had fun and we supported our team. We followed them to every game and felt the loss when they did. Plus, many of us were dating the basketball players.

The season was a surprise to us all. The coach was only in his second year at the school and it was a young team of three seniors and the rest juniors. When we won the first 8 games, the school was in a frenzy, holding pep rallies and daring to speak about going to states. There were a few losses, as the season wore on and we played harder schools, but the enthusiasm stayed and the team only learned from their mistakes.

When the team won regionals and discovered we were on our way to the state finals, we were all nervous wrecks; not just the coach and team, but the whole school, including all the parents. The state championships were to be held in the field house of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. It was a huge, professional-type court, the likes of which none of us had ever seen. The crowds were huge, the noise deafening, and we all felt small and out of our element.

Amazingly, our team won the first few rounds on days one and two. Our crowd, mixed in with the rest of the state, was wild with excitement. We cheerleaders had lost our voices during the second game the day before. Our team was up for the finals - the state championship. If they won the next game, they would be the best basketball team in the state for their league. The game was a nail biter. All the way through, there was only a one or two point discrepancy between the two teams. Finally, in the last few seconds, as we were behind only one point, our team was fouled and our best shooter was set to make a double foul shot. The pressure was so great, the normally great foul shot shooter missed them both. Time ran out and we lost the game.

We were all disappointed, but we had come so far and were proud. It was a moment in our high school history I'm sure no one has forgotten.