The countdown began three years ago, after Freeport finished a close second in the conference.

“We knew at that point how lucky we were,” girls basketball coach Ryan Pierce said, “to have three more years with this group.”

The Pretzels’ luck finally ran out. It’s now over. An unprecedented era that saw Katie Norman, Suporia Dickens, Courtney Shiffer and Kelsey Hoefer all score 1,000 career points and the Pretzels go 61-3 in the NIC-10 and 110-22 overall ended Saturday with a second consecutive Class 3A state runner-up trophy.

Knowing they will never play together again crushed the Pretzels as much as their 56-19 defeat to a Peoria Richwoods team they had split four previous games with the last two years.

“These girls, I remember growing up with them,” Norman said. “That’s the hardest part right now, to not be able to play with them.

“We built a lot of memories over the last six, seven years and they won’t be forgotten. I love every one of these girls. They are like family to me.”

With a trio of four-year starters plus Dickens, who started two years and played a key role for four, the Pretzels played together longer than most college or pro teams.

“I’ve played with some of these people since fifth grade,” Shiffer said. “It’s definitely going to be hard. It doesn’t seem like it’s over, even though I know deep down it is. I can’t believe I’m not coming to practice next week.

“They are my best friends. It’s going to be hard to not see them every day after school when we’ve been doing this for so long.”

And it’s not just the stars who will have trouble letting go. Heather Kittoe-DeBoer, who scored Freeport’s second basket in the Pretzels’ semifinal win, Morgan Wagner and Leah Dietmeier are little-known senior cogs on a pair of state runner-up teams.

“The three that I feel the most for are Morgan, Leah and Heather,” Pierce said. “On most teams, they are the players, they are playing 20, 25 minutes a night instead of the four that dominated our boxscores for years. Those are the three I wish could come back for one more year and have a chance to start.”

As the Pretzels final days together counted down, they tried to pretend the finish line didn’t exist.

“A couple of times this season someone would mention something about next year or when we’re gone,” Pierce said, “and every time that happened, someone would stand up and say, ‘We’re not talking about that.’

“They don’t want to think about it. The coaches, we don’t either.”
Well, they have to now.

It’s over. For good.

But, in a way, it will never be over. The Pretzels will always have Normal. And each other. An extended Pretzel family that includes their parents. After the medals were handed out and the team photos taken, before the Pretzels met with the press, they pealed off one by one to hug their parents in the stands. A couple also hugged a teammate’s dad.

“The families have grown close, too,” said Pete Norman, Katie’s dad. “It’s been an unbelievable ride for four years.

“This is very hard for the girls, but this is what memories are made of. These are lifetime dreams. I’m sure they will remember these days forever, and the parents will, too.”

-Matt Trowbridge, rrstar.com