October 5th, 2013 | Uncategorized
As soon as we had possession of the ball, I stood up and yelled repeatedly for a time out. When everyone looked puzzled, Shelby informed me we can only call time outs on dead balls. WHAT? When we finally got our time out, Shelby and I pleaded with our girls to box out. The Meteors had just gone on a run and we lost our 8-point lead. This has to be one of the most stressful things about coaching. “If we box out, we win the game. We need someone to be a leader on the court and hold their teammates accountable,” we begged.
And much to our surprise, they boxed out. 3 minutes left, down 5. Hannah, one of our sharp shooting guards, hit two big jumpers to bring us within 1. One of our players Laura turned to Shelby and I on the bench and goes, “I think you two are more excited than us!” And although we know coaches are supposed to be the emotional stability of the team, we were squealing and screaming at every play, slowly inching to the top of the coaster. We hit a huge layup to go up by 1 with less than a minute left. The coaster releases into the downhill, our stomachs in throats. After getting a stop, Katie, our team captain, took the ball in for a layup and hit the “and 1.” Whistle blows, TRAVEL! The opposition drives the length of the court, hits a layup to tie the game. The whistle blows. FOUL! What a turn of events, she hit the FT to put us down 1, our hearts racing, call a timeout. The clock expires before we get a shot off. Our emotional roller coaster screeched to a stop at the very bottom, and the attendant lifts our restraints and we get off, legs weak. But were so proud of the effort our girls put in and we know we have a lot of potential for the rest of the season that we are ready to get back on the ride next week. Go Kubs!
