"Crystal Lake Central's Sam Johnson, far right, reaches for the phone from senior Jenae Taylor (12) who screams "we won, we won" to former head coach Mendy Benson on the phone informing her of their 43-31 victory over Belvidere in the Class 3A regional championship at Belvidere High School in Belvidere, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009. The Tigers are this season's Cinderella story after winning 11 games compared to only 10 games in their previous five years combined."
I shot the regional finally of what turned out to be one heck of a story for the girls from Crystal Lake South. After making their way through a playoff run where not a single person gave them a chance to win, they fulfilled their dreams tonight capturing the regional championship.
In Colorado the regionals really aren't that big of a deal so I was a little surprised that the team went so crazy at the end of the game. I wasn't familiar with their story until I got back to the office and found out how much of an underdog they were. As with the end of all games, I was prepared with a wide angle lens and rushed the court with the team as they celebrated.
Tonight was one of the moments that these girls will look back on years down the road that will be marked as one of their greatest memories from high school. I was just glad to be apart of such a great story. As a journalist I have to remain unbiased but I'm secretly pulling for them as they make their way down state.
Here are more images from the game.
-JCE
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