Inspirational coach, Incarnate Word puts national 141-game win streak on line vs. Etiwanda at Hoophall Classic

Dan Rolfes was given a 1% chance to live after enduring a heart attack after the state semifinals last year, but Knights will give 100% effort when it tangles with preseason No. 1 team Monday

Incarnate Word Academy coach Dan Rolfes, shown last season here before his heart attack, is back on the sideline after leading the national No. 10 Knights to their national-record 139th consecutive win on Jan. 11. He'll lead his team at Hoophall Classic Monday in Springfield (Mass.) riding a 141-game streak against national No. 8 Etiwanda. / Photo: Nate Latsch

No one plans to win 139 games in a row. Or 140. Or now even 141.  

But Dan Rolfes just keeps rolling out the ball, studying meticulous scouting reports and yes, hate to say it, but taking one practice/game/victory/heartbeat at a time. 

His Incarnate Word Academy girls juggernaut out of St. Louis continues to roll following Thursday’s 66-31 win over Mater Dei (Breese, Ill.) — the Knights’ on-going national record 141st consecutive win overall. They haven’t tasted defeat since Feb. 8, 2020, a 46-44 setback to Rock Bridge (Columbia, Mo.). 

Ranked 10th in the country by SBLive/High Schools on SI, the Knights (10-0) play No. 8 Etiwanda (14-4) Monday at the Hoophall Classic in Springfield (Mass.).  

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“I’m a super competitive person and I wish I never lost a game period,” he said by phone Wednesday. “But frankly, I don’t think I’ve ever gone into a season thinking we're not going to lose a game. So to go four or five seasons and 140 games in a row without losing is pretty amazing. 

“I mean so many things aren’t going to go your way. Things that are out of your control. Injuries. So many external factors.” 

Like enduring a heart attack. 

27 ELECTRICAL SHOCKS

Rolfes, 52, suffered a near fatal one in the car following the semifinals of the state finals last season. 

His wife Lisa, a nurse, performed CPR. At the hospital, his heart stopped, requiring 27 electrical shocks. He lacerated a liver. His lung was punctured. He was given 1% chance to live. 

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Things weren’t definitely going his way. 

But after a month in intensive care Rolfes lives on. His team won the next night after the attack to claim its seventh straight state crown and 13th overall.

Fans made signs, many moved to tears when Incarnate Word defeated Kickapoo 53-43 for the 6A state championship last season with their coach Dan Rolfes fighting for his life in a St. Louis hospital. Rolfes is back for his 25th season and has led them to a 10-0 record heading into Monday's appearance in the Hoophall Classic in Springfield (Mass.). / Photo: Nate Latsch

After six months of painstaking recovery and surgeries — he had a pacemaker and defibrillator inserted — doctors gave Rolfes the OK to coach in 2024-25. It was a lot of work. Fueled by the passion for the game and the players he coaches. Executed by the daily process he’s preached to players. 

What’s more improbable? Getting back to coaching or winning 141 straight games? 

“We’ve never talked about the streak,” he said. “We just prepare the same. Scouting. Walk throughs. Drills. We’ve kept everything consistent. Kept the kids grounded. Never look too far ahead.” 

Same for 25th-year coach.  

NATIONAL RECORD

“It was a long process,” he said. “Some days were good. Others bad. You just keep plugging along. Every day is a blessing.

“Of course getting back to doing what I love was important but so many other things were put into perspective. First and foremost was my family, my wife and three children (all in their 20s). They have so many milestones ahead. So much is ahead of them in the next 10 years and beyond.” 

And there was this one big coaching milestone to pluck as well — the national win streak of 138 held by Central Plains (Clafin, Kan.) from 2014 to 2020. The Knights entered this season at 131. 

As the tension grew after each win, the games themselves were never in doubt.  

Dan Rolfes offers instruction in the 2023-24 season leading the Incarnate Word Academy girls basketball team to a 13th state title. / Photo: Nate Latsch

Incarnate Word Academy, led by Indiana commit Nevaeh Caffey, won its opener by 69 points. The Knights won the next by 43 points, then 17, 49, 44, 23 and 18, setting up Saturday’s game versus Blue Valley North (Overland Park, Kan.) for the record. 

Though Caffey and returning starter Peyton Hill were key, with 10 points apiece, it was 20 points off the bench from 5-foot-2 junior Addi Owen that proved pivotal in a 68-51 victory. 

The national record was theirs. 

5-2 FIRECRACKER

“It speaks to our depth,” Rolfes said. “Love the fact our 139th straight was keyed by a 5-2 firecracker. That’s what I love about her and all our teams is that they are such competitors.”

The record was important, Rolfes said, because “It’s  not just one kid, one season or one team, it’s our program. A lot of people have sacrificed and given so much blood, sweat and tears to be a part of it. It’s all of them. I’m so happy all the love and attention all the kids are being recoginzed..” 

Owen’s “firecracker” performance and attitude reflects the team’s mantra which is to stay “humble and hungry,’ or “As Jason Kelce says, ‘hungry dogs run faster,’ “ Rolfes said. 

They might have to run their fastest to extend their streak to No. 142. 

The team  flies out to Massachusetts Saturday and for perhaps the first time since the streak began, might be underdogs when it faces preseason No. 1 Etiwanda, which is the two-time defending California Open Division champion. The Eagles feature two potential All-Americans in LSU-bound forward 6-2 Grace Knox and 5-5 Cal-bound point guard Aliyanah “Puff” Morris. 

The Eagles, playing a national schedule, lost three straight early, then 88-79 to Long Island Lutheran, but have won 10 straight and appear rolling.

Event organizers set up the matchup and Rolfes is anxious to see how his team matches up. But it might not have ever happened had a team trip to the Bahamas not fallen through. 

“We had sort of planned to go (to the Bahamas), but they needed a commitment while I was still quite sick,”  Rolfes said. “How could I commit to anything while on dialysis? It all turned out though. I'm just thankful we're playing here and I'm coaching. Whether it's the Bahamas, Massachusetts, Missouri, anywhere. It's so good to be back.”