Tatum Grubbs earns well-deserved standing ‘O’

 DES MOINES (March 5) -- With five seconds left in Friday’s state semifinal loss to Bishop Garrigan, Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton head coach Tom Petersen called one final timeout.
 Guard Tatum Grubbs, the lone senior on the Spartans’ eight-girl roster, had just scored a breakaway layup after making a 3-pointer less than two minutes earlier.
 It was a 30-second timeout, and Petersen spent most of those seconds giving Grubbs a heartfelt embrace as E-EHK fans stood and cheered inside Wells Fargo Arena.
 This was a well-deserved standing ovation.
 “It stinks that she didn’t get the opportunity to play as much as she would have liked to, but for her to get out there in the end and to hit a three and then hit a two, she deserves a standing ovation, and that’s why I called a timeout to get her out because I love that kid,” said an emotional Petersen after the game.
 “She’s done so much for our program over the last four years. It’s kids like that that you hope the rest of the student body understands and looks up to. I guess probably the best compliment I can give her is that I hope my daughter learns a lot from her.”
 Grubbs was a four-year starter for Exira-EHK and helped the Spartans reach the state semifinals as both a freshman and senior. Her senior year, though, was unfairly sidetracked when she suffered a torn ACL during a holiday break practice.
 Instead of opting to have surgery right away, Grubbs chose to tough it out. She braced up the injured knee and did what she could, recording playing time in eight of the team’s final 17 games after the injury.
 Friday’s five-point outburst (in five minutes of game time) wasn’t unusual for Grubbs, who generally found a way to knock down a shot or two whenever she got the chance. And throughout the whole process, she never stopped smiling or encouraging her teammates.
 “I wanted to stay positive and try to push through everything knowing that I could help the team in a little way - like if they just needed a little break I could help them,” Grubbs said.
 “I just tried to bring energy and help the girls out if they were struggling, give them words of encouragement and (tell them) to play for one another.”
 Grubbs said it was a great feeling to make a couple shots Friday after going scoreless in the Spartans’ three previous games and not playing in two before that. She was thankful to her teammates for getting her back to Des Moines and being able to share a state tourney experience with her sophomore sister, Quinn.
 “It was lots of fun and I don’t regret any of it. My teammates brought me all the way here and I can’t thank them enough to have such a fun season,” she said.
 “It’s always been my dream to get here every year, but unfortunately we’ve been close (twice and) didn’t make it. So it’s been pretty fun, and especially (playing) with my sister it was pretty special.”
 Grubbs, who plans to play college basketball, will still follow the team very closely in the future.
 “The team next year will be really good, too,” she said.
 Spartan junior Mollie Rasmussen called Grubbs a great teammate and friend.
 “She’s a very hard-working young lady and I’m going to miss her so much,” said Rasmussen.