Mountain Iron-Buhl senior guard Allie Negen knows exactly where she will be during March Madness: playing in the state tournament.
The Rangers played in their ninth consecutive Class 1A state tournament Thursday, the last six with Negen as a participant. Three classmates — Mattison Bennett, Madisen Overbye and Macy Savela — were also on the roster as seventh-graders.
"It's been a journey," Negen said. "It's hard to grasp it. It's been such a gift."
Negen had 15 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals in the Rangers' 50-48 loss to Goodhue on Thursday.
"I have so many memories that I'll never forget," Negen said.
The Rangers have been runners-up twice, finished third twice and finished fourth once during their nine-year run.
Others got a shot
Centennial senior center Sara Stapleton missed 22 games at the start of the season with a knee injury suffered in the first week of practice. Cougars coach Jill Becken said Stapleton's injury, while a huge loss for the team, had a silver lining.
"There was such a sadness in the gym when we found out she couldn't play for a significant amount of time," Becken said. "So our girls just decided they were going to play hard every practice because she couldn't."