No one really dressed up for Sunday’s pep rally in honor of the Ridgewood girls basketball team which finished third in last weekend’s IHSA Class 1A state tournament. All of the varsity girls wore blue jeans to go with their white T-shirts from the state tourney.
But for close to 500 fans sitting on the hard bleachers of Walt Minder Gym, the third-place medals that each player wore lit up the entire gym. Throw in some video clips from Normal on a big screen and some heartfelt speeches, and the day was a slam dunk.
Spartans coach Bryan Brooks — in his blue sweatpants and his gray sweatshirt from state — spoke for 30 minutes from the podium. Brooks held up a Spartans blue T-shirt that proudly said, “Let’s make it happen.”
A couple minutes later, he looked right at the seniors on his team and said, “We will never forget you. We will never replace you. You have set the standard high for the next teams.
“And to the underclassmen, your goal should be to get back to state every year. The seniors showed you the way and they also left you room for improvement. There is no reason why that goal should not be every year.”
After a historic 32-3 season, coach Brooks said that the 32 wins is the most of any basketball team from AlWood or Cambridge. The girls from AlWood High School on this this team include Michelle Williams, Stephanie Williams, Jena Peterson, Madison Miller, Ella Teel, Hayley McDowell, Annie Gelaude and Taylor Brooks.
“We set a goal to go to state and we got there,” said coach Brooks. “We had seven seniors on this team and there was not one standout athlete. Very unselfish and that’s how we won a lot of games.”
Before the postseason began, Brooks said he joked with his underclassmen on the team that if they won the state title that he would retire. “After we won third, they said I guess you’ll be back,” he said.
Teel, a 5-foot-7 junior guard, often had a big smile on her face during the pep rally and capped off the day by signing a couple of T-shirts for fans. “I’m going to miss these seniors,” she said. “They are all my best friends, and I’ll remember it forever.”
“I think all the underclassmen will want to experience this (third place finish at state) and get out there to play,” she added. “It will make us practice harder.”
