Third time not so charming:
Garrigan ends Riceville state bid
By Kristi Nixon
MASON CITY — In a heartbreaking third straight attempt to advance to the girls state basketball tournament, Algona Garrigan once more turned away the Riceville Wildcats in the Class 1A regional final on Wednesday, Feb. 21 at Mason City High School.
The Golden Bears, who have won the past two Class 1A state titles behind post Audi Crooks, now have turned to the Top of Iowa West Conference Player of the Year, 6-foot freshman Graclyn Eastman.
She, and a hot three-point shooting Garrigan team, rolled out to a formidable 16-6 first quarter lead en route to a 62-44 victory over coach Darcy Fair’s squad.
“It’s just the way it fell tonight,” coach Fair said. “I felt like we were prepared and ready. Definitely played them a lot tougher than we have. Obviously, their team is different, but our team is different, too. Their coach made the comment, ‘Are we ever going to play anyone different in the post-season?’ Three years in a row, they got us and just the better team in those three years and we have to go back to the drawing board for us as players and coaches. What do we need to do to get to that next level, I guess.”
The full story, and more photos, will be found in the Feb. 28 print and e-editions of the Enterprise Journal.
