It was indeed a tough loss for the Iowa State Cyclones last night. While being the underdogs, the hopes of many Iowans were riding on their shoulders. We've watched this team really grow over the last couple years, and the end of the season meant saying some tough goodbyes to great rising stars, like Jameel McKay, Abdel Nader, and Georges Niang. The loss hurts the players, fans, and coaches. But it might have stung the most for one Cyclone athlete.

Katherine Coker is a Senior Cyclone cheerleader. She was having a great time cheering on her team in the tournament. However, she would soon learn a hard lesson many players learn each season; Beware of the ball. With about two minutes left to play, a wild ball flew off a player's foot, and shot out of bounds with some force, catching Katherine square on the face. She had no way of bracing herself for impact as it came at her that quick. Play stopped for a moment to help her up and off the court.

After all that, she apparently returned to the game, which is awesome. We definitely know she took to twitter though and was in good spirits about the whole thing. As any cheerleader will tell you, don't say their job is easy.

 

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