After ending the season with a mere three wins, the Bomber Girls Basketball team pulled off the unthinkable. The team not only won their first playoff game and made it to the Rochester Mayo Civic Center, but they proceeded to win the Section Championship. Winning the Section Championship is a team’s ticket to the state tournament. Going into the State Tournament Bomber fans were still in complete and utter shock. Nonetheless, they showed up. Junior Avery Rustad expressed her surprise after the team punched their ticket to the state tournament saying, “No one expected it, but it feels right.”
Playing in the Minnesota Gophers Williams Arena in Minneapolis was already exciting for the girls, but with Bomber fans packing the stands the arena was on fire. In the first round of the tournament, they simply could not miss a shot. Every shot the Bombers took seemed to fall, as a team they shot a stunning ninety-three percent. Shooting lights out like the Bombers were, leads to a victory nearly every time, with this, the team proceeded to move onto the second round, the semifinals.
During the semifinal game, the Bombers set a new record for the most points scored in a single game during the state tournament, they scored a stunning 154 points. During the game, every girl on the roster got in, and scored. After the game, Junior Anna Ritz addressed this, “I never would have thought we’d make it to the tournament, let alone set any records.” Ritz also mentioned she was thrilled that all the girls were able to get into the game and scored. After the record-setting game in the semifinals, the Bombers were ready to power into the championship game.
Before the game began Rustad was asked what she anticipated for the game ahead, she responded with “Blue ribboned medals around all our necks, a banner hanging in our gym, and shocked Bomber fans.” Entering the game the girls were stoked just to be there but they were hungry for a victory. The stands were packed with loud Bomber fans, creating an unmatchable environment. To start the game, the Bombers got the first possession, where they scored the first points of the game. From there everything seemed to be going right for the Bombers. After the thirty-six minutes were up, the Bombers had pulled off a remarkable forty-three-point victory. They won ninety-one to forty-eight. And the celebration began.
At the beginning of the season, no one would have expected the Bombers to make it to the state tournament let alone the championship game. Defying the odds with three wins entering the playoffs the Bombers made history and surprised all their fans.
