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Just before tipoff, a student-led prayer

The Crane High School girls basketball players practice and win together.

They also pray together, publicly, before every game.

Moments before the start of the championship game of the 2015 Stephanie Phillips Classic at Kickapoo High School, players from three-time defending state champion Crane and host Kickapoo met at midcourt.

The gymnasium fell into silence as the players formed a circle and Crane senior captain Emma Lander prayed aloud.

“We just want to keep in mind what is most important, and for us giving God the glory is what is most important. That’s why we play, that’s what our main purpose in life is,” Lander said.