Tornadoes' season ends in State heartbreak

Cassie Meylor shoots over Algona's Katelyn Seely.

DES MOINES - In their first State Tournament appearance since 1999, the 13th-ranked Storm Lake girls saw their superb season come to an unfortunate end Tuesday night as they fell in their Class 3A Quarterfinal matchup with 3rd-ranked Algona, 57-49.

"We've been telling the girls all along you can't make dumb mistakes against good basketball teams," Storm Lake Coach Mike Wabeke said. "We made a couple of dumb mistakes at the end and they made us pay for it. They showed how good of a team they were. We played well, but they played better."

The Tornadoes matched the taller Bulldog team on the boards, and actually connected on more two and three point baskets, but the difference ultimately came at the foul line. Algona knocked down 18-of-27 at the stripe, while Storm Lake finished 0-of-2.

Read more of this story in the March 4 Pilot Tribune.