Everything was in slow motion now. The background noise seemed so far away as I knelt down on the sideline and watched the game. I glanced up at the clock and watched one second tick away. It felt like one hour. My head thumped as my heart pounded the blood through skull. This was far worse than the feeling I had when I was playing and the game was tight. I had no control over anything other than what play to call. The girls' had to do their job and execute.
"Can't this go any faster?" I asked myself.
I looked over at Teagan and watched her tapping her foot impatiently. She was just as ready for this to be over as I was. I checked the clock again to see only three more seconds had ticked off. Teagan left the bench now and walked towards me.
"Why can't the dam clock go any faster?" she huffed in a low voice so only I could hear her.
"Relax," I sighed trying to sound calm myself. "Don't get the girls' nervous by worrying."
"I'm trying," she breathed.
The crowd started cheering but I was still stuck in that slow motion state and I barely heard them. It felt like I was underwater as they grew louder. I checked the clock again and saw five seconds had come off it and the other team had tied the score. 1 minute and 23 seconds remained as Mandy brought the ball down the floor and looked for me to give her advice.
The whole game had been very close and very well played. Both teams were worthy of winning this state championship that was on the line. Neither of us had led by more than five points. We had run our go to sets in the first half and did well. The possessions were long and we had to reset a few times but we always got a good look even if we didn't score. The second half became more difficult as they made adjustments at halftime and were more focused on where the play was going. The scoring became much more difficult for both sides as we had done the same thing. I was debating on whether to revert back to a simpler high low post play but it wouldn't work since we didn't have good post players this year.
My mind was working quickly even if time seemed to stand still. We needed good movement and some solid picks to get the shots we needed. I knew just the set that would get us what we needed.
"Georgia Blue," I called to Mandy as she passed half court.
Mandy got the play going as they worked it around. It was the same motion offense we had been running in the first half but it varied by changing where the ball rotated to. It worked after two resets and 32 seconds clicked off the clock. Now there was just over 40 seconds on the clock.
They called time out to discuss what they needed to get done. I reminded them to play smart and not give up the three pointer. Play resumed and they quickly moved the ball around as they ran their offense. We did a good job shutting them down. They resorted to trying a risky cross court pass from the top by the three point line to the baseline.
"Dam it," I hissed in a low voice.
Their girl caught the ball and quickly shot it over Cassy who was undecided on what she wanted to do and was out of position. If Cassy would have just gone for the steal she could have had it but she was frozen as her mind said I can steal it but her legs didn't move her to make the play.
I didn't dwell on that. Cassy was a young player who was still learning the ropes of varsity after I called her up from JV late in the season. Normally she wouldn't be in with the game this tight but Rachael got tangled up fighting for the ball and fell. She hit the back of her head hard off the floor as they tumbled. She sat out as a precaution since she had some signs of a concussion. Cassy was my best option at this point since I needed some size on the floor. It was my turn to call time out.
I checked to be certain how many I had left. One full time out was all I had and was more than I needed at the moment.
"I'm sorry coach," Cassy said looking down. "I should have gone for the steal or fouled her."
I learned quickly that yelling at them didn't work to motivate them. It just made them scared and more stressed out which carried over into the game. The best way to get my message across was to be calm and very deliberate. By me being calm it kept them under control and made them focus on what I needed them to do and not what they should have done. The only time I raised my voice at them was when they had been told more than once to fix a problem and they continued to make the same mistake.
"Don't worry about it," I said quickly and smiled at her. "It's over and forgotten about already. Look at the score, it's tied up and we have the ball. Next time you will be ready."
She just gave a soft smile as I patted her on the back. The current five sat on the bench as the rest of the team gathered around me.
"Listen to me now, run Duke. Dribble the ball around and let some time run off the clock. Mandy, don't watch the clock, listen for my voice to say go. I want you focused on your defender and nothing else. Taylor, you are the shooter. I want a dagger. Give me a three pointer."
"Why me?" Taylor asked nervously.
"You have been open at the line all game. They won't expect a three. They will be playing you for the drive. You've beat them all game off the dribble so this is the perfect time to hit a three."
I could understand her reluctance with my request though. She hadn't taken that many three pointers in a game this season. When it was just us messing around at the gym she would hit a little better than half. I knew she could shoot she just needed to convince herself she could too.
I put my hand under her chin and tipped her face up so she would focus on my words. "Take the shot, you can make it, I know you can do it. At worse we play another quarter."
"Ok," she said with some confidence.
We huddled up now. "One, two, three, team," they cried.
They took the floor and got ready. Mandy got the inbound and focused solely on her defender. She dribbled around near half court and kept her space from her defender. I let the clock tick down. It felt like 10 hours instead of ten seconds.
I called for Mandy to go. They started running the odd play that I designed which had some screens to distract them from Taylor. Mandy broke past her defender as they moved to close the gap. This left Taylor open on the side at the three point line. Mandy's pass was right on target. Taylor caught it, squared herself and shot the ball. It banked off the glass, hit the front of the rim and rattled around before dropping in. It wasn't the prettiest three pointer she had ever made but it got the job done. They instantly called their last time out as the crowd roared. I hardly heard them as I looked at the 2.5 seconds on the clock.
"See, I told you it would be there," I cheered as I gave her a high five.
"Ok, you know what is coming now," I called. "They have to make a three. Cassy, you get right up on the inbound pass and make it hard. The rest of you form a line along the three point line and play tight. Do not foul. Don't worry about a two pointer, you know that won't do them any good. Just contest the shot but do not foul."
"One, two, three, defense!"
I took a big sigh now as I tried to calm my nerves. Only two seconds and we would be state champions or be playing another quarter. The ref blew the whistle and handed the girl the ball. Cassy toed the line and jumped around doing her best to make it more difficult. Their girls ran a play that created a wall separating us from them. It was a long shot as Mandy finally got around the wall and tried to contest the shot. It sailed high through the air and hit the rim. It bounced and rolled around as the horn sounded. It seemed to stand still on the rim as it spun around. I felt like I was in a time vortex as I waited for it to fall off the rim. It finally fell through tying the game and sending it to overtime.
Their girls cheered for joy as it went in. My girls held their heads high with Mandy leading the way with encouragement. She held her hand high in the air with all five fingers extended saying quarter number five.
"Alright," I said. "Sometimes they fall and sometimes they don't. We have to hold our heads high and play one more. You girls are playing great and you're going to win this. Continue to execute and play hard on defense and the state title is yours. Start off in Georgia Blue and I will switch it when I see fit."
I turned to Taylor. "Don't hesitate to take the three if they leave you open."
"Yes sir," she cried.
"Everyone needs to be focused and sharp. Take your time on offense and get a good look. Points are going to be hard to get so make a good shot."
"We got this," Mandy shouted. "One, two, three, win."
Even though this quarter was shorter it felt longer. I completely shut everything else out except for what the girls were doing on the floor. It was back and forth again. We would take our time finding a good shot and scoring. They would do the same thing. This was a very intense game with each team having good players who were well disciplined. It was what you wanted in a championship game. We ran away from the team we played in the semifinals which worried me. The girls didn't let the easy victory get into their heads. They were spot on tonight.
Time was winding down again. They had the ball and were once again down by two points. They kept passing the ball looking for something to open up. We were doing a great job of keeping the play in front of us and forcing them to reset. Their point guard called the ball back to the top to reset again and changed the play.
They set a screen and Taylor got tangled in it as she tried to get around it. She lost her footing and fell to the floor. Her girl got the pass and squared herself to the hoop. Cassy tried to switch over and stop the shot. Cassy got faked into the air as the girl side stepped her and got square to shoot again. Taylor had scrambled back to her feet by now and tried her best to contest the shot. She was just a little too aggressive and bumped the shooter. She was strong enough to control her hands and guide the ball on target getting it to bank home and get a foul called.
The game was tied now with them having a free throw coming. Taylor looked broken as she raised her arms and had this distraught look on her face. Mandy went to calm her as they lined up for the free shot.
"Pay attention to the shot," I called. "Four on the line, Mandy back."
They did as ordered and watched the basketball fall through and give them a one point lead.
"Fudge," I croaked. I wanted to say something much different but I knew we couldn't afford the technical foul now. "Time out!"
I grabbed the board and started drawing what I wanted for the last play. I could hear Mandy telling them that it was ok and everything was going to be ok.
"I'm sorry coach," Taylor said crying.
I looked up as I heard her voice weakly and was surprised she was actually crying. "What the hell are you crying for?"
"Because I just screwed up and lost the game for us," she choked. Being a freshman and playing a lot of minutes in the big game was emotionally taxing on her. I gave her a soft and calm expression as I spoke to her.
"Taylor honey, look at the scoreboard. Is there still time on the clock?"
"Yes sir," she sniffled.
"Then we haven't lost. As a matter of fact, we got them right where I want them. We got this. Here's the play."
Taylor wiped her face quickly and focused on what I had to say. All the girls focused now.
"It's real simple," I offered. "Mandy and Mindy, this should look familiar to you girls. It's Sam's old high low pick with the extra screen we put in. Cassy, you are here, Taylor, you are here, and Mandy, you are right here."
I drew lines getting them to understand how it was going to work.
"Start the play right after you get the ball inbounds," I ordered. "You have some time on the clock so don't rush a shot but don't take too much time to get a look."
I looked over the girls again. My gut said to switch where I had the girls playing. Rarely did I not listen to my gut.
