Hallie Christofferson saw it happen in each of her last three seasons.

Year after year, she watched members of the ISU women’s basketball senior class run off the court for the final time to the ovation of ISU fans in the crowd. On March 22 at Hilton Coliseum, it was finally Christofferson’s turn.

With tears in her eyes, she couldn’t believe it was her time.

“You feel like there’s always going to be another game or another season,” Christofferson said with tears still in her eyes after the game. “When there’s not, it just hits you and all of your emotions all kind of come at once.”

Iowa State’s run in the NCAA tournament came to an abrupt end with a 55-44 loss to Florida State in the first round at Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones (20-11) shot an ice cold 25.4 percent from the floor, which was a season low.

The response from the ISU fans that packed Hilton for yet another NCAA tournament appearance by coach Bill Fennelly’s squad could not have been warmer, however, when Christofferson left the floor for the final time.

With the game out of reach in the final moments, Fennelly subbed Christofferson out, who ran from the far end of the court to the ISU bench. She met her coach near the scorer’s table and the two embraced, sharing one final moment as player and coach after four years of dedication to the program.

“I told her that I loved her, and I told her that every single person that is standing up is standing up for what she’s done for our school and it had nothing to do with the points and rebounds,” Fennelly said, holding back his tears. “It was the kind of kid [she is] and I thanked her for being the kind of person that wore the Iowa State jersey the right way and I just thanked her for allowing me to be in her life for four years.”

In her final game with the Cyclones, Christofferson led the team in points with 13 and also grabbed four rebounds. She finished ranked seventh in career field goals — 562 — and scored in double figures in 40 of her last 43 games with Iowa State.

The numbers and figures didn’t matter to her right after the game, though. Christofferson just tried to savor the moment on the court when she joined her teammates and waved to the fans one last time in her ISU uniform.

There was time to think about her appreciation to everyone who has helped her out through the years and how far she has come as a player out of Hamlin, Iowa, and a Class 1A high school basketball program.

“Small-town people don’t get that opportunity very often, and for me to have that opportunity has just been unreal,” Christofferson said. “I really can’t even put into words just how amazing it’s been to play here and the fans and all of the people that have helped me get to this point.”

Not always the loudest or most demonstrative player on the court, most fans could see the confidence and calmness with which Christofferson played in virtually any situation. Even though most people could see that, they might not really realize what kind of effect her example could have on the people around her most.

“When things are getting riled up or fired up and we’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, we’re down’ and we have that little freakout moment where we have to get going, she just is like, ‘Hey, we’ve got this,’” said freshman Jadda Buckley. “When she’s out on the court, there’s that sense of calmness that we can look to her.”

In the moment Fennelly shared with Christofferson where they shared an embrace in front of the Cardinal and Gold faithful that saw Christofferson find herself as a player during the last four years, he thought of how much she meant to him and how people like her aren’t always easy to find.

“If you’re an Iowa State fan, we were blessed to have her in our life,” Fennelly said with a slight pause. “You do this job because you hope you get to be around people like that every so often. I was very lucky that she honored us by coming to school here.”