On The Verge Of Elimination

Emily's expression says it all after the close call.
Yes, we know this is turning into a "Basketball Blog" with all the reports of Dad and Emily's basketball team. But honestly, that's about all we've been doing. Emily's team played Monday night, Wednesday night and Thursday night in the Holy Ghost tournament. It was set up in pool play, so they needed to win all three games to assure themselves of a spot in Saturday's championship game.

Thursday night was a game against Christ Child Center, an opponent they had not played all season. On paper, it seemed like a sure win. But several factors made it much more difficult.

First, the referees seemed to be a little partial toward Christ Child Center. Secondly, the other team had a girl that shot from outside a lot. Unfortunately, some of her shots went in - to the tune of all 14 of their points. Yes, one girl scored all 14 of her team's points. And yes, she took three steps each time she heaved the ball toward the basket. Did the referees call traveling? What do you think?

Anyway, it was 10-10 at halftime and still 10-10 going into the fourth quarter. If that wasn't exciting enough, a little Christ Child Center fan decided to pull the fire alarm. For the next 10 minutes, the two teams sat there listening to the darned thing go off.

When it was finally shut off, Christ Child Center ran off four straight points to go up 14-10 with about four minutes to go. Emily's team didn't fold, though - especially when Dad reminded them that their season would end right there if they lost. (Mom - and many of the parents - probably didn't realize this.) The girls responded, scoring two baskets to tie - including one off their "diamond" inbounds play. The winning basket was scored by Maddy, the smallest player on the court, off a fast-break layup with less than a minute to go. The final score: 16-14.

To say it was a relief to Dad would be an understatement. When we got home, it seemed like Dad had been playing - not Emily. His shirt was drenched with sweat and he looked like he had been through the wringer.

So what's next? The championship game is Saturday night. The Spartans will be playing their nemesis, St. Peter & Paul, whome they've lost to twice (by scores of 15-11 and 14-7). Their coaches spent the whole game watching - and even rooting for Christ Child Center - hoping that there wouldn't be another rematch. After the game, they called the tournament organizers to try and get the game moved up to 4 p.m. Dad said "nope" when the tournament officials asked him about moving it up. So not only are the Spartans the home team, but they're also going to be playing a team that would have rather played the game two hours before. Oh well.

The team's final practice is this afternoon. We'll see how it goes.