One of the great stories of this year’s basketball season was the Army women’s team. The Army program was more or less in wretched condition, and new coach Maggie Dixon, at 28 years of age, took over the team just 11 days before the start of this season. What happened was an improbable storybook season – Army came from nowhere to win their first regular season and tournament Patriot League titles and earned the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament bid.

Dixon was hailed for her turnaround job. Her brother, Jamie Dixon, is the head coach at Pitt, and both Dixons led teams to the NCAA Tournament this year, earning quite a bit of national attention. The entire Army and West Point communities rallied around the success of the women’s team. When they won the conference championship, Army cadets – the guys – rushed the court to hoist the triumphant women on their shoulders.

On Wednesday, the 28-year-old Dixon collapsed during an afternoon tea after suffering an “arrhythmic episode to her heart.” She passed away Thursday night.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski followed the Army story during the season and has a very fitting tribute to Dixon’s passing.

In the span of three weeks, this incredible story right out of a Disney script has turned into a gutwrenching tragedy.