Team work, talent and a great work ethic are descriptions used by community members in regards to the state champion Fairview girls basketball squad.

“More than anything else, it’s an attitude type of thing. Desire is part of it,” Maynard Bills, a longtime track coach in Fairview, said. “They wanted to do it, but they were also the type of kids willing to sacrifice the time needed to work at it.”

Jim Hardy, father of player Katie Hardy, agreed with the team’s top-notch work ethic. “They just worked all the time – all summer, all the time,” Hardy said. “They hung together when they needed to.”

The team’s mental makeup also was a huge key to their success.

“What made them special was their strong defense and that they really came together as a team,” Terry Cayko, a fan and a former basketball coach, said. “All the girls knew their roles, and they meshed into their roles.”

“They played their own game and played as a team,” Jim Bieber, grandfather to players Morgan Klose and Masyn Klose, said. “And they got along so well.”

Hardy, who dyed his hair blue for the tournament, added, “It was the most unselfish bunch I’ve been around.”

Dawn Selvig, who coached Fairview to its other girls basketball championship in 1984, watched this year’s squad become a team.

“They came together as a team, and they worked hard for it for years,” Selvig said.

When comparing the two championship squads, Selvig noted both had a big girl who could score from the inside and outside. “But hard working is the biggest thing,” Selvig said.

Seniors on the team were Katie Hardy, Erica Riedel and Stephanie Murphy.

Besides all of those other factors, the Warriors featured the athletic talent needed to win the state championship and go 27-0.

“They’ve got all the positions covered. They’re really strong ballhandlers and strong defenders,” Fairview athletic director and boys basketball coach Luke Kloker said. “They have accepted their roles.”

The Warriors shot an incredible 57 from the field and 66 percent from three-point range in the first half of their 58-42 championship game victory over Saco-Whitewater. Four girls – Morgan Klose, Hardy, Jordan Gifford and Murphy – reached double figures in the victory.

“They had four good scorers,” Ken Bergenheier, teacher and basketball official, said. “They didn’t have to rely on one person.”

“They are extremely talented,” Matt Schriver, Fairview’s superintendent of schools, said.

The Warriors also displayed their talent on the defensive end where their man-to-man pressure kept opponents in check throughout the season.

“The big step this year from last year was defense,” Kloker said. “They dedicated themselves to that all season long.”

Schriver said other teams talk about “junk defense” such as using chasers or unique zones, but Fairview was consistent with its man-and-man defense.

“They just came out and played and dared people to beat them,” Schriver said. “They could flat defend.”

During a reception Sunday at the school, coach Mark Thompson commended the girls for reaching their goal as a team.

“You played hard, you played smart, but most importantly, you played together,” Thompson said to the players. “Now forever you are state champions.”

editor@sidneyherald.com