StarTrib city columnist Doug Grow on Whalen and the Gophers, from the days freezing in the empty pavilion to now, when they've become local celebs.

"It's like two different lifetimes," said Kadidja Andersson.

Grow: "Because of what this team has accomplished in the past three years, women in Minnesota now have a toehold on sports parity. There can't be a female athlete, or former athlete, in the state who's not astonished by what's happened."