Their welcome home was almost exactly as it was last year.

There was the same police escorts Sunday and the South Bend Fire Department again arched the entrance to the school.

Fans waited and cheered to greet the South Bend Washington High School Panthers on their trip home from the girls basketball state finals.

One thing was different. This year, the team lost.

The smiles were gone. The spirit almost seemed artificial and the party lacked cheer.

Saturday night’s game at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis wasn’t pretty. Carmel won the Class 4-A title, 84-72.

It was a hard loss to swallow. The Panthers, who won last year and had another magnificent season this year, expected to win. Excellence inspires such confidence.

On Sunday, kind words searched in vain for willing ears.

Mayor Steve Luecke, decked out in his green Washington High shirt, told the players how proud he was of them. Washington Principal George McCullough said again, for all to hear, that this team is special.

“Hundreds of teams would love to get to the state finals, and you have been there three times,” McCullough said, at the homecoming assembly Sunday afternoon. “We could not be more proud of you, and you are still champs and the pride of the west side.”

“What’s been most exciting is how the community has rallied behind Washington,” said coach Marilyn Coddens. “It was not just South Bend, but Mishawaka, Elkhart and other cities.

“It meant so much. These girls are so competitive, and losing is so hard for them.”

Meagan Phillips, one of the team’s seniors, said afterward she appreciated all the tributes and the tournament was fun, but ...

“It was good to be able to go downstate again, but I wanted to win.” Phillips said. “We are seniors and we tried, but it just wasn’t good enough. It been a great ride and I have enjoyed every moment of it.”

Takoia Larry, a junior, was disappointed with the loss but also with the empty seats at the assembly.

"Last year when we came home, the gym was packed," she said. "But this year, there was hardly anyone here to welcome us back.”

It may be hard to see clearly through the tears and the disappointment. And maybe this year's welcome-home party was a bit of a bummer.

But it would be a mistake to think that the community isn't as proud of the Washington team today as it was a year ago.

The Panthers were outsized and outplayed on Saturday. There’s never any shame in losing the final game in the state’s biggest final.

More than 400 teams begin practice each fall with the hope of playing in Conseco in the final day of the season. Only eight teams get there. Any one of those other 400 or so teams that lost out in the past three weeks gladly would have taken Washington's spot.

Losing the state championship does not take anything away from the wonderful young women these players are, or from the great coaching staff, the students or the community.

Let it hurt a little. We learn from our setbacks. And when we get another chance, next year or the year after or 30 years from now, this community still will be proud.

This was a team that earned everything we gave them. And it’s a community that deserves to be proud.