Air Academy’s High School Girls basketball team going into the 5A state tournament is the number one overall seed. A big reason for this is their togetherness and team chemistry on and off of the court. This will help them as they prepare for their elite eight matchup against Frederick High School on thursday. 

Riding their momentum from winning the Pike Peaks league,they started off the playoffs by beating Widefield in the round of 32 by a score of 79-44. Then in the Sweet 16 they beat Palmer Ridge 47-28. This greatly helped punch their ticket into the state tournament at the Denver Coliseum. They would beat Fredrick in the elite eight by a score of 45-39.

The expectations and pressure are high for the team considering they haven’t lost in a game in over 2 months and are looking to keep their winning streak alive. They are looking forward to keeping meeting the expectations during their time up at the state tournament this weekend. 

“We have been wanting to get back to this point since the last time we were at the coliseum,” senior Caitlin Kramer stated. 

Being the one seed is a lot of pressure and at times can be a lot to handle but the team has taken this as an opportunity to embrace it and enjoy the moment. Their main goal has been to get to Denver and compete for a state championship. The team’s experience from last year has allowed them to be better prepared for the challenges in front of them as they get ready for their upcoming games.

“Our main goal has always been to win a state championship and we are looking to achieve that this week,” Ramah Khammash, a junior, expressed. 

The team’s had the same vision throughout the entire season, which was to make it far in the state tournament. This is the main motivation for the girls and has helped propel them to a very successful season even though they didn’t get the end result they wanted.

“Our talent as a team helps a lot but the main reason we are successful is the bond and chemistry we have with one another,” Lydia Flowers, a junior, stated.

Having talent on a team is very important but having good team chemistry is more important. Having talent on a team is important but if the team doesn’t have chemistry then they are wasting their talent.. This is ultimately the main reason why they made it to the final four this season.

 “We have believe on the back of our warmup shirts because we believe that we have a great opportunity to win it all,” Coach Winnett stated. 

The team has used the motto “believe” throughout the postseason because they believe they can achieve anything . They believe that if they play at their best, that no one will be able to compete with them. This is why they decided to choose this as their team motto for the postseason. 

With the pressure being through the rough for the girls basketball team, they have the confidence and chemistry to be able to handle it. This is why they earned themselves a final four trip and a 3rd place finish in the final CHSAA rankings.