Frankfort girls' basketball reflects on first ever state title
COLBY, KS. (KSNT) - The four-and-a-half hour drive from Frankfort, Kansas to Colby, Kansas was more than worth it for the Frankfort girls' basketball team.
The Wildcats beat previously unbeaten, and therefore top-seeded, Little River, 47-41 in the 1A DI girls' state championship game.
"It's an honor to bring a first-time state championship back," head coach Brian Ebert told 27 News. "But it's more of an honor to be a part of a team that's so special and gritty and grind it out."
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The victory required a monstrous upset against a Little River team that looked unstoppable for much of the season.
"[My players] don't let things bother them, when they hear 'Oh, Little River, two-time state champion in volleyball, undefeated in basketball. Oh, they're going to win it all, just give them the medal' sort of thing."
The players are well aware of how special their accomplishment is.
"It just feels so unreal," senior Hattie Gros said. "There's been so many players that came before me in Frankfort history. To think that I'm one of the few that can say we brought home a state championship is just so crazy to me. It's just unreal."
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The victory puts Coach Ebert is rare company as one of few Kansas coaches who have led boys' and girls' basketball teams to state titles. His Wildcat boys' team won it all in 2012. The sweetness of hoisting the trophy was amplified this time given that his daughter, Breleigh, is a junior on the team.
"It was just a great feeling," Breleigh told 27 News. "It feels special and [closer] to home for me because my dad is the coach. It's nice to win something so big and something that you've been working so hard for with him."
As with any father-daughter sports duo, there have been highs and lows in the Ebert's journey to becoming state champs. The lows will be forgotten and the highs will be amplified as they forever remember one warm embrace in the final moments of the game.
"He took all the starters out for people to kind of cheer and what-not," Breleigh said. "Right when I went off the court it was just big hug, lots of emotions. Just kind of like 'Wow, we finally did this.'"
Ebert hit a pivotal 3-pointer late in the game that sucked just about any life out of a Little River comeback hope.
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Senior Emma Hardwick put her body on the line in the title game, sporting a wicked cut above her left eye after the game as she spoke to 27 Sports Director Glenn Kinley.
"It's definitely worth it," she said. "This win is what we've been working for all year, especially after coming here last year and getting third. We wanted to go win it all."
It's a win that brings smiles to many near and far from Frankfort, Kansas. Coach Ebert, despite now being a two-time champ, won't take credit for the win.
"This is very special, obviously, for the community," Coach Ebert said. "...Everybody tells me good job but I'm just a little bit of a part of the whole thing. The girls are the ones that deserve the congratulations and the celebration because they're the ones that put the time and the hard work in."