Editor's note: This is the 10th part of a summer series looking at some of the greatest games ever played in Northeast Iowa. Share your favorites at sportsdoor@wcfcourier.com.

CEDAR FALLS - The game arrived ahead of its time.

To the women who played basketball for Cedar Falls in 1991, the clock struck a wrong note. But only one.

"It would have made a great final," Jenny Nelson said.

Said Barb Lorenzen, "I think most people thought we should have met in the finals instead of the semifinals. … It was a great game for the fans, all the players, sports in general."

Seventeen years ago, Barb Lorenzen was Barb Franke, the center. Jenny Nelson was Jenny Sandvold, the point guard. On a Friday afternoon in March, they helped Cedar Falls beat Cedar Rapids Kennedy, 68-65, in the five-on-five semifinals of the girls' state basketball tournament at Des Moines' Veterans Memorial Auditorium.

The game had everything, like great players.

Lorenzen, named Miss Iowa Basketball at the end of the year, became a star at Wisconsin.

Nelson played Division I college basketball at Oregon after a stint at Kirkwood.

Shelley Sheetz, the Cougars' star, moved on to an outstanding career at Colorado.

On the court that day, two evenly matched teams dueled. Kennedy had handed Cedar Falls its only loss during the 1990-91 regular season. Momentum ebbed and flowed. Big shots were made; big shots were missed. Finally, it came down to a wild scramble under the basket, a clutch field goal by Lorenzen and a desperation midcourt try by Sheetz that could have forced overtime, but didn't.

"When it didn't go in, we stormed the court," Nelson said. "Obviously, they wouldn't let the fans do that and our coach was mad at us. But we just reacted. We'd never been there before or done anything like that. We didn't mean to show up Kennedy. But we were so excited. We'd worked so hard since seventh grade to reach that goal. We knew we had a chance to win."

A chance to win? Indeed.

Beating Kennedy only earned the Tigers an opportunity to play for a state title. Cedar Falls and coach Rich Hach had to come back on a Saturday night to win it. The Tigers whipped Fort Dodge in the five-player finale to claim the school's first crown in girls' basketball.

That game was televised. The Cedar Falls-Kennedy epic wasn't.

Nonetheless, that 17-year-old game is very tough to ignore when the subject is great games of any era.

"I live in Des Moines now," said Barb Lorenzen, who is married to former Kennedy and Iowa basketball standout Al Lorenzen. "I go to some tournament games. It's in a different arena now, but I still have those memories."

The Tigers beat Dubuque Wahlert in the opening round of the 1991 five-on-five tournament. They knew Kennedy would be next, and it wouldn't be easy.

It wasn't. Cedar Falls played a superb first half, building a 38-27 lead at the break.

But …

"I don't think we were quite prepared," Nelson said. "We had kind of a letdown - a longer halftime than we were used to. We got unfocused and rattled. We had some turnovers and Kennedy put some pressure on us."

The Cougars, behind Sheetz, stormed back to tie the game. Regrouping, Cedar Falls rebuilt its double-digit lead. Again, Kennedy charged with Sheetz red-hot. She finished with 35 points.

So, with 13 seconds to go, Cedar Falls held a tenuous, 66-65 lead. Nelson, the Tigers' floor leader, sat on the bench with five personals. The Cougars fouled backup guard Jill Wolf, who went to the free-throw line for two shots.

She missed the first. She missed the second.

Madness then took over.

No one controlled the initial rebound until Cedar Falls' Nikki Klapprodt grabbed it. Klapprodt had hit a key basket earlier in a similar situation. This time, her putback didn't fall.

Another battle of the boards broke out. This time, Lorenzen got the ball. Later, she joked that she wasn't accustomed to being in a tight game late in the fourth quarter because of her bouts with foul trouble.

Not this time. Lorenzen shot. She scored.

Cedar Falls 68, Kennedy 65. Eight seconds remained, and there was no thought of trying to kill the clock rather than go for the basket.

Said Lorenzen, laughing, "I didn't play a lot of defense back then so sure I wanted to throw it back up there and score.

"It's a different game now. In college, I probably would have held on to it and someone would have fouled me for sure, But back then in high school, you go by instinct and do what you normally do. I got the rebound and shot it back up."

Racing the clock, Sheetz had enough time to reach midcourt. The shot nearly went in.

"I think we all knew the ball would be in her hands," Lorenzen said. "We were trying to make sure that we had someone in her vicinity so she wouldn't have an open shot. But I think she was still pretty wide open."

Lorenzen took most of her shots from close range, and she rarely missed. The senior center went 14 of 18 from the field and collected 33 points. She also hauled in 16 rebounds, including nine at the offensive end.

Nelson had 13 points and six assists. Tami Klages added a dozen points and nine boards.

Now and then. Jenny Nelson will pull out a tape of the Kennedy game. She endures a few jabs from her husband, Brad, who is an assistant women's basketball coach at Northern Iowa.

"He makes fun of me because we played so poorly in the third quarter," said Nelson, laughing.

Yet, the finish makes turning the clock back worthwhile.

"It was just so exciting," Jenny Nelson said. "I still get goosebumps."

Contact Jim Sullivan at (319) 291-1434 or jim.sullivan@wcfcourier