CROMWELL — When the horn finally sounded on Cromwell-Wright’s Section 7AA championship win over Mountain Iron-Buhl on Thursday at Hibbing Memorial Building, it was the culmination of a full season of work.
“It was one of the best days of my life, honestly,” senior Isabella Anderson said. “We worked really hard; all season we were prepping for them. We knew this was our year to compete in this game.”
The emotions seemed to pour out of Cromwell-Wright players and coaches on the floor that day, senior Bryanna Foster said.
“It didn’t feel real to me,” she said. “I looked at everybody else, they’re all cheering and I was just sitting there in shock. I was like, ‘Whoa, I can’t believe what’s going on,’ and then everybody started crying. I think we were crying more than MIB because were just so happy to finally beat them.”
This was the fourth consecutive season the Cardinals have faced MIB in the section title game, but in the last three the Rangers were “a lot better than us,” coach Jeff Gronner said, and those contests ended in blowout losses.
“We knew that we’d have a shot, but they were still a favorite,” Gronner said. “They proved that when they beat us in the regular season, but we just played a fantastic game.”
It was an emotional moment.
Beating MIB is a “dream come true,” according to Anderson after years of losses to the Rangers. But none of these Cardinal players had to swallow the bitter pill Gronner and the 2020 squad did.
That season, Cromwell-Wright had blown out MIB in the section final and had topped Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa in the Class A quarterfinal. The Cardinals were at their hotel getting ready for the state semifinal when Gronner stepped into the hall and called the team together.
ADVERTISEMENT
The grip of the COVID-19 pandemic was tightening around the U.S., and the Minnesota State High School League decided to cancel the remainder of the 2020 state tournaments.
“That was awful,” Gronner said. “I brought the whole team into my hotel room and told them. We didn’t say anything for about half an hour, except cry and hug. It was tough, and it still bothers me to this day.”
In 2020, the Cardinals were one of the favorites to win a state championship, and the lack of a conclusion still has the feel of injustice for that squad, even without anyone to be mad at. Taya Hakamaki, the 2020 News Tribune All-Area Player of the Year , said they knew NBA teams had begun canceling games, but the speed with which the cancellations worked their way to Minnesota high school basketball was shocking.
“We had no idea it was going to happen that fast,” she said. “Obviously, no one knew what was going on with COVID — but nobody was expecting it and everyone was really upset and emotional because we did have a really good chance that year.”
Hakamaki, who was part of Minnesota-Duluth’s NCAA Division II national runner-up team in 2023, was on the court in Hibbing as they held off MIB’s furious comeback attempt.
“It was really exciting to be there and support them,” Hakamaki said. “We had a pretty good lead in the beginning, but it’s a second-half game and it got pretty tight. It was nerve-wracking, but the girls were able to pull through. It was really fun to watch.”
As the team turns attention to the state tournament, the players know they have an entire community rooting for them and they’re confident in one thing — they’ll get to play the whole tournament out.
ADVERTISEMENT
“It’s going to mean a lot to our community,” Anderson said. “Just being able to go down there, actually play — maybe not win, but at least go down there and finish the tournament rather than get sent home. Everybody was pretty brokenhearted after that.”
While top-ranked Goodhue makes everyone else in the field an underdog, the Cardinals have already taken down the No. 2 Class A team in Class A when they beat MIB.
“We aren’t just satisfied going down there,” Gronner said. “We expect to compete and win some games down there. I think Goodhue is the favorite, but everybody else is fairly even.”
Cromwell-Wright (25-4) will face West Central Area at 1 p.m. Thursday at Maturi Pavilion in Minneapolis.
In practice Monday, after detailing how the week of the state tournament would go, Gronner and the Cardinals focused on the ninth-ranked Knights.
“Our biggest strength is our defense, so we have to know the personnel of all the other teams,” he said.
Hakamaki also has some advice for the girls when they take the court Thursday afternoon.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Be confident and play your game,” Hakamaki said. “It can be nerve-wracking getting on a big stage like that, but just try to stay calm, play your game and work as a team. One thing about this team is that they just work well together. I think if they can continue to do that down at state, they should have some success.”
The Trust Project
