The Game, That Was by ed riley, copyright 2003

Prelude

"Ladies, you asked for it! You have worked hard to get here, and I wish I had a great speech all prepared. But as you all know, I really suck at speeches,"
Coach said as a chuckle went though the locker room. I looked at my teammates faces, and they were all smiling at Coach. He was right, his speeches really sucked.

"Two years ago a group of you came to me in your freshman year and asked what the chances were that we would ever play a major team like aTennessee, or a U Conn. Inside I laughed and wondered if maybe I had recruited the dumbest, most ignorant players in the whole United States." Another chuckle went through the room.

"At that time I explained to you that you had to win enough games or our conference championship. If we could do that, then maybe, just maybe we would be unlucky enough to pair up against them in the first game of the NCAA's. Most of you nodded your head up and down and stupidly said OK, we can do that!" Coach looked around and saw that every set of eyes in the room were glued to him. He nervously played with his tie a moment.

"Today, as I stand here, I know I was right. I absolutely recruited the most ignorant group of players possible. Ladies, when you came on board were the third smallest D1 college in the nation. We hadn't had a winning season in over six years before you got here." Coach smiled and slowly began again.

"And you had me for a coach! Two years ago I was a rookie D1 coach, this was my first D1 coaching job. I wasn't ignorant, I knew what I was up against. But, I was stupid! I was stupid because I should have believed in your enthusiasm and attitudes a little more than I did." Coach stopped and took a drink from his Evian bottle.

"I was right! I indeed had recruited the most naive and ignorant players ever. And not only that, but the following year you ladies infected the new freshman and the upperclassmen with your vision of playing one of the best women's basketball teams to ever hit the court. You were so naive that you
didn't know that you weren't supposed to win a lot of games." Coach threw up his hands and continued on in a laughing voice.

"And it sure stands to reason that you didn't know that the Vegas odds of us winning the conference tourney this year was 50 to 1, against us. And then we have a 1 in 63 chance of playing Tennessee in the first round of this NCAA Tourney. Now that I think about it, they are a #1 seed and it
stands to reason we are the sixteenth seed. So ...... we really had a one in four chance of playing them. Sheesh, that makes me feel better, I was
thinking maybe you had a direct line with the man, or woman, upstairs!" Coach raised his head and looked straight up at the ceiling, and smiled.

"Ladies, what's that old saying? 'Be careful what you wish for, because it might come true!' Ladies, you got your wish. In thirty minutes you are going to tip it off against Tennessee. Oh, and as if that's not bad enough, you are asking me to match coaching wits against Pat Summit. In case you didn't know it, she's only one of the most brilliant coaches ever to coach the game. So thanks a lot!" We all lost it when he pretended to wipe the sweat off his brow. I was proud of him, this was Coach at his absolute best.

"Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that you ladies only have to stop the #1 player in the country Laqisa Adams. And then, hummm, let's see, they have a 6'4" All American named Cuddos Johnson. So who's going to stop Adams?"

As one we all raised our hands. Coach stared at us and smiled. "I'm not even going to ask who's going to stop Johnson!" But again, we all raised our hands.

"You want to know the really scary part?" Coach said as he surveyed the room. "You got me believing! I'm the grownup, the adult, the coach who's supposed to know better, but you made a believer out of me! Anybody got anything to add before we finish this insanity?"

I lifted my Evian bottle of water. "Team, a toast! Here's to insanity. As my great grandfather used to say, ‘Don't let the sane bring you down!' ”

"And another," Coach added. "Here's to believing and working hard for your dreams, CHEERS!"

THE GAME

Warmups were a joke, a true joke. We must have missed half our lay-ups, almost all of our outside shots, and it was so obvious that we were nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof. Halfway through the warm-ups I started laughing, I couldn't control myself, I started bursting out. One thing I've always been told, I have a contagious laugh. If I really get tickled, I can get everyone in the place going. It didn't take but a moment before half the team was starting to laugh. Needless to say, it was not a Kodak moment.

Up in the broadcast booth was none other than Dick Vitale. They were doing a pre-game interview with him. No, he wasn't doing the color commentary for the game, he was the one being interviewed. Somehow he saw me
laughing my head off and then the rest of my team following suit.

"Look at them," Vitale said in the interview. "Are they nervous? No! This Cinderella team appreciates just being here. It's fun to these kids! This is
what makes this such a great game. And who knows, maybe we will see another David and Goliath unfold here today. This is the Big Show, the Big Dance, Baby, and anything can happen in the NCAA Big Show!"

When I heard about this after the game, I had to laugh. Really, I was just glad that he didn't know why I was laughing.

The warm-ups were over and Coach called us to the bench. "Remind me to ask what was so funny after the game."

"Coach, can I say something," I spoke up. He nodded so I continued. "I know we missed most of our shots in warm-ups, so what. Something my dad taught me a long time ago, your defense never leaves you. So we knew this would be a defensive game, and our shots will go in, at some point in time," I laughed. "Sorry coach, didn't mean to preach."

Coach went back to his normal pre-game speech, play hard defense, don't let them push us around, and then he added this at the end. "Look around! Savor
this moment! Remember this moment in time, cause it doesn't get any better than this. Here's the starting five."

"Trimble!" Amanda Trimble was our 5'4" #2 guard. She was a natural blonde, slender, yet all muscle. Amanda was all heart and determination. She averaged taking 2 or 3 charges a game, could light up the scoreboard with her 3's, and was our best all-around player. She was also one of my best friends.

"Vlasak!” Krista Vlasik was another 5'4” guard. Krista was our point guard. She was absolutely the most athletic player we had. Story goes that when she was younger, her dream was to be able to dunk the ball. Her parents built her a ramp so that she could run up the ramp and dunk it. After she mastered it at that height, they would lower it so that she would have to jump even higher. Because of this, Vlasak had one of the best verticals I have ever seen. Now add that her knickname was Blur, she was that fast.

"Riley!", that was me, AshleyRiley. I played the #3. At 5'9" and 160 pounds, there was no way I was as fast as Trimble or Vlasak. It's not that I'm slow, I'm just not in the same league as the Blur's of the world. My forte was defense. I had made defensive spacing a science. I could defend against a quick guard, or a tall forward equally well. The guard was going to have to rain NBA threes to score, cause she wasn't driving on me.

The forwards? They were easier. If they can't get the pass, they aren't a threat. I also had a knack for making them go over my back and I would shoot into them and so I became quite adept at getting them into
foul trouble.

Offensively I was OK. I could nail an OK percentage of threes. My real opportunities came in drawing the fouls, still getting my shot off, and making the freethrows.

"Klump!" Klump was 6' tall and all of 130 pounds. We called her JK for Jump Kristin. When she was younger, she was tall enough where she didn't feel she had to jump to get the rebounds. In high school, we had always had to remind her to jump, hence, JK.

Klump, even with her slight body mass, always found a way to get more than her share of rebounds. She'd rebound, never bring the ball down, and would
quickly release a shot before the other team had a clue what was going on. Sometimes my dad would call her Bird Girl. He said only Larry Bird had a
quicker release than JK.

One thing I should make you aware of, four of us had played ball off and on together since we were in the fourth grade. My dad had been our coach until
7th or 8th grade, then he became our off-season coach throughout high school. So the four of us who made a pact. If any of us were recruited by a college, we all agreed to try to make it a package deal. So as you can see, someone was lucky enough, or unlucky enough, to take us up on our 4 for 1 offer.

"Cheyenne!" Sam Cheyenne was 5'11" and 180 pounds. We called her Cy for short. Cy was our boards banger. Though not tall by college standards, Cy averaged 16 rebounds a game. She was always reminding people that she was part Native American. She said that the reason she could rebound was because Indians weren't afraid of heights, like some slender blondes she knew. Some of us doubted her heritage because of the light brown hair and petite facial features, but, who knew?

Coach called us into a huddle and said, "On three, defense." Cheyenne laughed and said, "How about on three saying "Insanity?" So that's what we screamed, Insanity!

1st Half

Up in the broadcast booth, they had Lisa Smith, a retired WNBA player, doing the color commentary. Nancy Jones, a network face, was doing the play-by-play announcing. Women's NCAA, women announcers, it sorta made a whole lot of sense.

"Well Lisa, with tip-off just moments away, do you have any thoughts on the game?" Nancy asked.

"I'm happy to see such an unknown team make it to the tourney. Whether the Renegades win or lose, this is a time these young ladies will never forget!" Lisa replied.

"I have to agree with you there," said Nancy. "But to play a traditional powerhouse like the Lady Volunteers, just doesn't seem quite fair. Then add
two All Americans in Adams and Johnson and ... "

"Nancy, most of the players in this tournament have been playing year round since grade school. They have devoted a whole lot of their lives for just this
one moment. Sure, the Lady Vols are a definite favorite, and stopping Adams and Johnson would take a small miracle. But, don't forget that the Renegades have nothing to lose. If they can play with a lot of heart and play the game of their lives, who knows what could happen," Lisa said as she interrupted Nancy.

"And with that said the ref is getting ready to throw the ball up for the start of the game," said Nancy. "There's the tip and Johnson tips it to
Adams."

I stood outside the circle next to Adams. The ref tossed the ball and Johnson tipped it straight to Adams. Before I could gather my thoughts, let alone move my legs, Adams was off and in 3 dribbles had laid it up and in for a basket.

"Damn, she's quick," I thought to myself. I made a mental note to give her even more space when she was outside the three point line. Trimble threw the ball in for us and down the court we went. I got the ball around the 3 point line and saw Cheyenne free for that half second that most post players get.

Every time I'm in this situation, I can still hear my dad preaching about how basketball is nothing more than a game of half seconds. Players aren't normally open for longer than a second, so you have to make your move in that first half second, or you lose your window of opportunity.

I threw a pass to Cheyenne, when seemingly out of nowhere, there was Johnson. She intercepted the pass, threw it to a teammate, who relayed it to Adams for another easy lay-up, four to ZIP!

Again we got the ball down the court, only to miss a shot, and the rebound. This time we got back in time. They passed the ball around the perimeter, until Johnson spun around Klump, and was open. Zip went the pass to her, 6 nothing.

We got the ball and Vlasak brought it down the court. She saw me open and skip passed it to me. I caught it, pivoted, shot, and missed. Immediately they rebounded and here came the outlet pass to Adams. Off she went like a rabbit.

Well if she was a rabbit, I was a freight train. Just as she went up for the lay-up, I went up. "Not in my HOUSE!" I screamed as I jumped and blocked the shot.

"Oh My God," blurted Nancy from the broadcast booth. "Did you see that?"

"That was one for ESPN's highlights. Listen to that crowd, they sure liked it," laughed Lisa. "Sometimes all it takes is one great play to turn a game around. I guarantee you, Adams will be listening for those footsteps the rest of the game. Now let's see if the Renegades can capitalize on that."

Vlasak got the ball off the block, made eye contact with Trimble, and Trimble ran for all she was worth. Vlasak let go a pass that would have made any NFL quarterback proud. As Trimble reached the far free throw line, she reached out and caught the pass. Without putting the ball on the floor, up she went for a graceful lay-up, and IN! Score? Six to two.

"And there's another one for ESPN's late edition," said Lisa.

The Lady Vols took the ball out of bounds. Now our team doesn't know much about any defense other than full court in-your-face m-2-m defense. The Lady Vols were a little lax throwing it in and Trimble stole the inbound.

Trimble passed it to me, I passed it to Vlasak, Vlasak saw Trimble open for three, and got her the ball. Swish from 3 point land and the score was now 6 to 5. Immediately Coach Summit called time out for the Lady Vols. So we went scurrying to our bench.

"Alright,," Coach said as we all took a drink from our bottles. Most teams drink from cups or the Gatorade bottles, but somewhere along the line we had taken to bottles of Evian. They should have hired us to do their ads as much as we consumed.

Coach mumbled a few things about stopping their fast break. It was obvious he was as nervous as we had been. Then he looked at me. "Riley, I want you to guard Johnson. Vlasak, you take Adams, and Riley and Klump, get Johnson into foul trouble."

It was their ball out of bounds. They easily got the ball in and down the court. After several passes, Vlasak girl got the ball. Just as she went up for
a shot, Vlasak screamed "SHOT" at her while faking like she was going to run into her. The ball hit the backboard, no rim, no net, and fell down into a
clump of players.

One thing I forgot to tell you about Klump, she's our garbage collector. You know that player who dives for every loose ball and cleans up all the garbage
balls around the basket? That's our JK.

Klump was on floor, got the ball, and pushed it to Trimble. Trimble made eye contact and Vlasak was off and blurring down the court. Trimble made a long pass into Vlasak's outstretched hands. Without a dribble, she took it up, and IN! Then she stuck her tongue out at Trimble, in fun, as if to say she could do anything that Trimble could do.

"Wasn't there somthing about these two Renegade guards? Didn't they have some sort of knickname?" asked Nancy.

"The Blur Sisters or they call it the Blur Break or something like that," answered Lisa.

"Well let's just say that the Blur Sisters put the Renegades ahead by one," replied Nancy.

The next three minutes weren't one of our finest moments. They scored six points, against our two more. They were up by three.

I had the ball when I saw Klump break open. Zing went my pass. In one smooth move, Klump caught it and performed a drop step on Johnson. Johnson reached across to block the shot and the ref blew the whistle. Foul #1 on Johnson.

JK missed her shot but went to the line for two. The first one was a laser guided rocket and richocetted off the backboard and right back to Klump on the line. I watched Johnson smile at the shot.

I walked over to JK. "Knees and arch, and let's get Johnson into a whole lot of trouble."

"She's mine," replied JK. It was obvious she too had watched Johnson's reaction. The second shot was picture perfect, no backboard, no rim, just net. Now we were down by two.

They brought the ball down the court. Adams ended up with the ball about 5 feet outside of the 3 point arch. She put her head down and decided to make a move but I saw it coming. I gambled and slacked off Johnson and took a position where I thought Adams would end up. She started her spin move and ended up smacking right into me. I had established position, so when the ref blew the whistle, I was hoping he saw it the same way I did. The ref's hand went to the back of his neck and I jumped for joy. Foul #1 for Adams, a charge!

We got the ball and the next two minutes proceeded to be a nightmare. It seemed we ran into every possible screen they threw at us. If their player still didn't get open, they would dish it off to the screener who inevitably rolled to the basket. They scored ten points in those minutes, to our NONE! Score? Down by twelve. The only good to come out of this was when Johnson went over my back for a rebound and got called for pushing. Foul #2! Coach then called a time out.

"Coach," I panted. I need a break. He signalled to Cy and told Klump to take my spot and for Cy to take hers. "Ladies, we are down by twelve. Defense is
a wonderful thing, but could we start to see a little offense as well." He then gave a few ideas when the buzzer went off to resume play.

"Ashley," my dad said in that tone that meant I was in deep trouble. "Defense is only half the game. When are you going to start playing the other half? In case you didn't know, it's called offense. We are only down by
18 at half, think maybe you could start working on an assist or two? Think taking a shot every once in a while would hurt you? I don't care if it's that
two-handed shot you play with at the halfcourt line. We can't win unless all of you start shooting."

If I had heard my dad say that once, he had said it 1,000 times. You know how every coach's kid gets called the ball hog? Well, I went out of my way
to make sure that never happened to me. The result was I didn't shoot much. I did improve on my assists, but shooting a lot wasn't my game.

Right now, I missed him. I missed looking up in the stands and seeing him with his two thumbs up sign when we were doing something right. I missed his sayings and his smile when I did something right. I even missed that pained look he used to get when I did something wrong. And what would he say or right now?

I stood up and began to shout and clap for my team. I started screaming my fool head off. Right beside me, another teammate stood up and started cheering. Within moments, our whole team was screaming and shouting
encouragement.

"You know, if I didn't know better, I'd say that by the looks of their bench, the Renegades think they're winning" said Nancy as the t.v. camera honed in
on our bench.

"They know they're losing" replied Lisa. "But this the heart I was talking about during the pre-game show. These players have the heart of a winner. Whether they win or lose today, nobody can tell them they are losers. Nancy, when you get to this level of play, the team with the most heart and desire is going to win. And our audience and we are seeing their heart!"

"Well I'll add to that," responded Nancy. "Who would have ever thought that the Reneagdes could keep up the blistering pace the Lady Vols are running at?

"I wonder if it's not the Renegades who are keeping this a fast paced game," laughed Lisa.

With two minutes to go in the half, we had whittled their lead down to eight. I went back in at the two minute mark, during another time out.

Coach talked about trying to slow the tempo of the game down during the time out.

"Coach," JK said in a pleading voice. "We didn't come here to lose. If we slow this game up, we are going to lose. We run and gun, then play full court defense. This is what we do!"

"Coach," added Trimble. "Speed is what got us here. Please don't ask us to slow down."

Coach looked at one face, then the next. 'What is it that that mouse, Speedy Gonzales always said, 'Arriba, arriba, or arriva, arriva, or whatever,' let's go with what got us here, speed!"

The next minute and forty seconds went at a blistering pace. They scored 10 and we scored 10. With 20 seconds to go, they had the ball. JK was now guarding Johnson. They went inside to Johnson. Johnson had her back to JK as she caught the ball. As she turned to the basket, she used her left arm to clear some space, and as she did she caught JK right in the jaw. The whistle
blew and it was foul #3 on Johnson. JK though, had gone down in a heap. She was conscious but you could see she was fighting back the tears. The ref signalled to the bench and our trainer went running out. After a minute or so, JK got to her feet and was escorted out of the gym by the trainer.

Cy came back into the game. The ref gave us the ball to take out of bounds. No one had made it into the bonus yet so with 12 seconds to go in the half, we were down by eight.

Cy threw it into Blur. Blur to Trimble. Trimble to Cy. And, as luck would or would not have it, Cy passed it to me. With three seconds left I had the ball at halfcourt. I lined up my shoulders with the basket and threw one of my two-handed shots toward the goal. As the buzzer went off, my shot had already gone through the bottom of the net. A long distance three pointer.
Haltime score? Down by five.

Halftime

During the first commercial at the half, Lisa ran down from the broadcaster's booth to the floor. There she put a hearing aid sized speaker in her ear that connected her with the producer. She was handed a
microphone, and had just enough time to shake hands with her interviewer, before the voice in her ear counted down that she was on in 5 seconds.

"It's halftime, and standing beside me is none other than Mr. Basketball himself, Dick Vitale. Coach, tell me, what do you think of this game?" asked Lisa.

"Awesome, Baby! These teams like the Renegades are what this game and tournament are all about. It's a chance for the little guy, or girl, to announce
to the world that they belong on this court. It's their chance to shine!" responded Dick.

"A lot of folks felt that the NCAA made a big mistake when they enlarged the field to 65 teams. Any thoughts on that?" Lisa asked.

Dick smiled before he answered. "Lisa, a lot of people felt that the tournament lost some of it's luster because they were watering down the quality of play by taking so many teams. I feel that the NCAA made the
right move. Tell me this isn't one of the most fun games you've watched all year. Without 65 teams, this game would never have happened. That would have been a crime."

"Coach, I couldn't agree with you more! What about Adams and Johnson? Through the regular season these two averaged 50 points a game. Here we are at halftime, and they have a combined score of 15 points."

"This is what I love about college ball, they still play AWESOME defense. I credit Adam's and Johnson's lack of points to the Renegades hustling defense. These Renegade players are playing extremely smart ball. They are taking the charges, closing down lanes, and making Tennessee think twice before taking a shot or making a move. You gotta love them!" Dick replied.

Lisa turned to the camera. "Don't go away. We will be right back with more from Dick Vitale and with the first half stats." She watched the light on the top of the camera go off, indicating they were off the air.

'”What do ya think, Coach?" she asked as she turned back to Dick.

"These Renegades are playing some great team ball. Instead of acting like they are mostly freshman and sophomores, they act like they have been playing together for years. If Coach Summitt doesn't light a fire under her girls, who knows?" he replied.

"Four of these girls have been playing together since they were in fourth grade, so there's your teamwork. Riley's dad coached them for nine years. He died a year ago. Well, here we go," Lisa said as she turned to face
the camera.

"Welcome back to the first round of the Women's NCAA Tournament. I'm here with Dick Vitale, getting his thoughts on the first half of this game between the Lady Vols and the Renegades," Lisa said as she turned to Dick.

"The true story behind the game, as you pointed out during the break, is the history of these Renegade players. Four of these players have played
together since fourth grade. That's got to be a first! Talk about team chemistry? It's like these four possess ESP. They know where the other's going to be without looking," Dick said as he smiled at Lisa. Yes, Lisa, I gave you credit for the info, he thought to himself.

"Enough about the Renegades. What do you think Coach Summit is saying to her players at the half?" Lisa asked.

"Knowing Coach Summit, she is lighting a fire under her girls. Then she'll detail their gameplan. I believe we will see an energized Tennessee when
they hit the floor, a different Tennessee."

" Coach, what would you be telling the Renegades to do at the half?"

"Lisa, I wouldn't change much at all. They a need a little more offense. If the Blur Sisters can't add an offensive punch, then let Klump try her shot
against Johnson. That is if Klump has recouperated from that elbow to the jaw. With 3 fouls, Johnson has to play a little cautious. And let me add one thing, Vlasak and Trimble just made my All Blur Squad this year."

"If none of that works, how about just giving the ball to Riley at the halfcourt line?" Lisa said laughingly.

"Was that shot awesome, or what?" Dick piped in. "Lisa, I am so in love with this Renegade team. They act like they don't know they are supposed to lose
BIG! They hustle! They play defense! They work together as a team! They make the BIG TIME plays when they need to. They are why I love college
basketball!"

"Well Dick, it remains to be seen whether they have the heart and the hustle to be able to topple this Goliath. Let's just hope that the second half
is as fun to watch as the first half was. Coach, thanks for sharing your time and thoughts with us. And Nancy, back to you for the first half stats." The
light went off and Lisa and Dick handed their earpieces and mikes to the crew.

"Coach," Lisa said as she turned to Dick. "Thanks for the credit on the Renegade player's history together."

"We all get our info from someone, why not admit to it? It was good seeing you. Now I get to watch a great basketball game," Dick said as he shook her hand enthusiastically.

"And now I get to go back to work with a know-nothing stuck up bitch like Nancy," Lisa thought as she started up the stairs to the broadcast booth.

I sat in the locker room staring at Coach as he began his halftime lack- of-pep talk. It wasn't that I didn't like him or respect him, I did. He was the second best coach I had ever played for. It's just that he was so, so monotone, and she was so used to listening to exciting, passionate halftime speeches.

"Ladies, JK is OK and ready to go. As you all know, we are a second half team," Coach started. Immediately four sets of eyes searched the room for each other. We had all heard this line before. Yes, we had all all heard this opening line before, but out of the mouth of a different coach, and in a different time.

"Ladies, you all know we're a second half team, " I could hear my dad say. "We play a fast game and play solid defense. It's normal for us to be down in the first half. But did you look at the other team? Did you really look at them? They are already starting to pull on their shorts cause they're tired. And who made them tired? You did!" She had the rest of the speech memorized. She was sure some of the other girls did too.

Coach droned on and stopped with eight minutes left before they hit the floor. He ended with, "Anyone want to add anything?"

Crash stood up and took a deep breath. She learned from her dad to survey the room and make sure she had eye contact before she was to speak.

"A smarter person than I, told some of this a hundred times, and it applies now. Ladies, you all know we're a second half team. We play a fast game and play solid defense. It's normal for us to be down in the first half. But did you look at the other team. Did you really look at them? They are already starting to pull on their shorts cause they're tired. And who made them
tired? We did! We have contested every foot of court they have gained. We have put a body on them every time their team has the ball. We have worn them out." Crash took a moment to make sure she still had their attention. Satisfied this was the case, she continued on.

"Sure we're down by five, what did you expect? You didn't think we'd be winning did you? But we have them right where we want them. They are worn out!"

JK jumped up and continued the speech. "And if they think they're tired now, they ain't seen nothing yet. We are going to run them till their tongues are hanging down around their shoelaces, like a dog on a hot summer day! We are going to own this team! OWN THEM!"

"And we are going to play the smartest game of our lives," Blur said as she stood up. "We are not going to let our egos LOSE this game for us. When you are tired, you are going to signal for a sub. We are going to play full speed and then some. We are going to give it everything we have every second we are on that court. And the moment it looks like someone is doggin it, even for a moment, Coach is going to sub you out."

"And our statistician is going to find a stop watch. She is going to time us. Everytime we get the ball under Tennessee's basket, we have five seconds to get the ball down the court and SCORE," This was Trimble who had picked up the speech now. "Five seconds is all we get. We are going to push the ball up the court like there is no tomorrow. Every time we take longer than five seconds, we are all going to run two suicides. I don't know about you, but I hate running suicides."

"And you centers and forwards," I continued. "God gave you a butt for only one reason, to move people out of the paint. We have got to do a better job of boxing out. God gave you a butt, use the damn thing! None of
their players should be in the paint for more than a second before you are on them, moving them out."

I cleared my throat and swallowed hard. Too many memories came rushing at me. But now was not the time to go there.

"We have fought and clawed our way here. Where others could rely on their own natural talent, we have had to work to get here. How many of you have spent thousands of hours in your driveways just shooting?" I could heads nodding up and down just like they did when my dad used this talk.

"How many of you have given up parties and dates for this game we all love?" More heads were nodding.

"Ladies," I continued on. "We have all sacrificed a lot of our youth for this game. We have given up everything to get here. So this is OUR TIME! This is
our moment! It all comes down to this second half. It all comes down to desire and pride." I paused, then continued.

"It simply comes down to this, the team who wants it more and who plays smarter ball is going to win this game. So before you hit the floor I want you
to ask yourself this one question. 'Have you given up all of the supposed fun things in your life, just so you can quit trying now? Or are you going to go
out there and lay it all on the line? Are you going to play 20 minutes of the hardest and smartest ball you have ever played?"

"Team, I am not going to regret a single second of my gametime, 20 minutes from now. I promise you I am not going to look back a year from now and think, 'Why didn't I try harder?' There is not a player in the world who's going to play harder or smarter than I am for the next 20 minutes." With that I looked down. Too many memories, too many memories came flooding
back.Trimble spoke up, “Ladies, there is not another team in the whole world I would rather play with. You are my sisters, a part of my family!”

"And I promise you that I will coach my best game ever," Coach added to break the silence. "Gather round!"

We all gathered in a huddle. By now I was fighting the tears. Too many memories were swirling in my head.

"I don't care if I get in trouble for this or not. Will you bow your heads?" Coach waited a moment and then continued. "Lord, grant these girls the
strength to do their best. They've all got the courage and the heart of a lion, I'm just asking for you to help them with the strength. Thank-you for all you have done for us, Amen!" Then he looked up, "Let's hit the floor!"

As the others ran out the door, I sought out Coach. "Coach," I said as I pulled on his sleeve. "Can I have a moment alone. I won't be long, I just need a moment alone."

Coach nodded, and patted me on the head like I was a little one again, and smiled. "We'll be waiting for you. I wish I could have known your dad better. He had to been one heck of a guy to have you as a daughter. See ya on the court." With that he jogged out the door.

I sat down on the bench and just started bawling. Too many memories.

A moment later I heard someone walk into the locker room. I looked up and there was mom. "Coach said you might need me," she said. I ran to her and hugged her about as hard as I could.

"Careful now, remember, I've had three back operations," she laughed. Then she stroked my head like she alwys did and made me feel everything was
going to be alright. After a few more moments she took me by the shoulders and looked straight into me. She had an uncanny knack of doing that.

"Your team needs you now and remember ...." that was all she got out.

"I know, the other half of the game is offense," I laughed. We hugged and walked out together.

MORE HALFTIME

Lisa made it to the booth and stood to one side as Nancy gave all of the halftime stats. "Just don't let her give an opinion," Lisa thought. The light went off, so Lisa went back to her chair beside Nancy.

"You'd think Tennessee was losing this game the way you and Vitale made it sound," Nancy said snidely.

"The story in this game so far is the Renegades. They are the underdogs and they make for a great story," Lisa replied.

"And what would a WNBA player know about a great story? Leave the stories to the pros like me!" Before Lisa could respond the producer was counting down from 5. Lisa had worked with Nancy before and it was less than thrilling. As far as Lisa was concerned, Nancy was a popmous, egotistical bitch who knew nothing about the game. If this hadn't been a NCAA tournament game, Lisa would have turned down the "opportunity" to work with Nanct again.

Nancy took her cue. "And welcome back to our coverage of Round 1 of the Women's NCAA Tournament. At the beginning of the second half, Tennesseeleads by five. And, the Renegades will have the ball out of bounds to begin the second half."

"Trimble has the ball and finds Vlasak open for the pass. Vlasak takes the ball, dribbles to the top of the key and skip passes it to Klump down low. Klump gets the ball, spins, and makes the 5' jumper. Now it's a 3 point game."

"Johnson takes the ball out. Oh, there's a screen and there goes Adams down the court looking for a long pass. Johnson spots her and throws a pass almost the length of the court for an easy lay-up. And what's this? Trimble is arguing with the ref?"

"Yes, Nancy," Lisa butted in. "It's obvious that the Tennessee player executed a moving screen and Trimble is arguing it with the refs. You can't come up behind someone and throw both forearms into the defender's back like that, and that's exactly what the Tennessee player did!"

"Lisa, I'm sorry to disagree with you but that was a good screen," Nancy retorted with an angry tone in her voice. "See, even the referee agrees with me, no foul. So the Renegades get the ball under the Tennesse basket. This is something new, Tennessee is now playing a fullcourt offense, I mean defense."

"Nothing new here, Nancy," Lisa chirped in. "Tennessee made four or five baskets the first half off of their full court press."

"And now the Renegade's coach is calling a time out. He's got his girls huddled around him and giving them their new instructions on how to combat Tennessee's press. There's the whistle and play resumes," Nancy said as she glared at Lisa. Lisa just smiled back at her, almost biting her tongue in half in the process.

"Now the Renegades are formed in a sort of rectangle formation. Crash has the ball to throw it in. The ref hands her the ball. Now the two players at
the top of the rtangle are coming down setting screens for the two at the bottom of the rectangle. Now two Renegade players are running down the court. Crash throws a long pass and Cy catches it and goes up for the layup. That makes it an eight point game again."

Lisa looked at Nancy in disbelief. Did she really hear the most non-basketball description of a great play? Where did the network get this ditz?

"Nancy, that's a simple Box. The forwards set up low, while the guards are on the freethrow line. As the ref hands the ball to the inbounder, the guards come down, set screens for the forwards. The forwards sprint to the far end of the court looking for the baseball pass. It normally works because the defending team usually only has one player back to guard against such a pass. With two offensive players down the court, someone is bound to be open."

Nancy continued on as though Lisa had never said a word.

"Now Tennessee gets the ball and must go the length of the court. Oh, there's Trimble with the steal. She goes up for a shot and Johnson blocks it with ease. What? What are they calling? OH MY GOD, they are calling a foul on Johnson. That was a clean block! Just whose side are these refs on anyway?" cried Nancy over the airwaves. Lisa looked at her in disbelief. She
had had enough!

Trimble went to the freethrow line for two and made both. In the meantime the feud in the booth was heating up.

"Lady, I don't know what game you think you are watching, but it sure can't be this one. Did you hear that slap? You could hear it all the way up here in
the booth. That was the sound of skin on skin. It has distinctive sound. Even a blind ref would have called that a foul!" Lisa knew her broadcasting days
were numbered with those comments, but she just didn't care. This was the NCAA Tournament and someone needed to get it right!

"Well I never....." was all Nancy could stammer out.

"That's right, it's obvious that you never spent the time to learn about the game you are supposed to be calling. Lady, this is the NCAA Tournament. These players have sacrificed everything to get here. They deserve enough respect, for you to either call the game right, or to just keep that big trap of yours closed. I'd rather watch the game without sound, than listen to your know-little and know-less comments." Lisa smiled at her own comments. If she was going to go down, it might as well be in comet-sized flames! She had always been known for speaking her mind, and as far as she was concerned, the network knew this before they hired her. For Lisa it was a matter of respect. These players deserved to have someone call the game who knew the game. This was after all, the NCAA Tournament, not some po-dunk minor league college game.

The t.v. camera was now on the two of them, and not on the game. Nancy almost ripped her ear off as she took off her headset. "I can't work with amateurs like this." And with that, Nancy stormed out of the booth.

Lisa looked at the camera man and said, "Get that thing back on the court. We have the game of the century being played out there, and you're focused
in on us. What are you thinking about, get the game, man, film the game!"

Lisa then took a deep breath. She knew her minutes in this booth were numbered. So she looked down at the game and figured she might as well call it her way until the men in uniforms and badges came for her.

"Well, it looks like the Lady Vols scored another basket while we had our catfight going on up here. Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize for that break
in the game. But now it's time to call some serious hoops."

"Now Adams has the ball bringing in down the court, with Riley guarding her. There's a crossover, but that didn't phase Riley. She had it spaced so that it just made Adams look like she was show boatin it. You gotta be close enough to the defender so that when you change directions with those moves, they go one way, while you are driving by them the other way. If you space your defense right, then moves like that are useless."

"Adam's is now looking for an open player, but the Renegades have every open passing lane blocked. And she just can't seem to shake Riley long enough for a good look at the basket. Oh My God, Adam's just tried to pop a 3 from way outside even the NBA 3 point line. And nothing but ..... AIR! Out of bounds to the Renegades! Girlfriend, I said I thought you were looking for a GOOD open shot. As a player, we get frustrated when we can't get open and our teammates can't get open. So just chalk that shot up to sheer frustration and trying to make something happen."

"Yes, ladies and gents, Coach Summitt just called a time out. From my view, you could about fry an egg with the steam rising off of Coach Summitt. She
did not like that shot, not at all! And if I were Adams, I'd just nod my head up and down and say yes mamm, and no mamm! And we'll be right back after this station break."

When she was sure she was off the air, Lisa started talking into the headset. "Listen, guys, I really am sorry about Nancy and all. But damn, she was butchering a truly great game. So I'm here and will call the game until you replace me."

There was a long silence and then a voice came through the headset. "Home office said you helped get us into this, so now help us get out of it. Call the game!"

Lisa almost jumped out of her seat. Call the game!She'd call the game and when it was all over it was going to be the best game that had ever been called in the history of the NCAA if she had anything to say about it.

She looked down at the clock. There were fifteen minutes left in this game. The Renegades were down by twelve. She must have missed more of the
game than she thought, she thought it was an eight point game. As the players took the court, Lisa noticed that Johnson was on the bench. The light on the camera came on again, so it was Showtime!

"Back again and with fifteen minutes left, Tennessee is up by twelve. If the Renegades don't pull a few tricks out of that ole magician's hat pretty quickly, this could be a long fifteen minutes for the Renegades."

"Renegades have the ball under the Tennessee basket. Ah ha, there's the Box again by the Renegades. It worked once, but twice against a Tennessee?"

"Riley has the ball out of bounds. Here come the screens. No, they stopped and now all four Renegade players are breaking down court for a baseball pass. Crash let's it go and it goes sailing. There's a mass of bodies going up for the ball, and ...... Cheyenne gets her hand up and almost spikes the ball to
Klump. It goes through Klump's hands and is heading out of bounds. And there's Vlasak diving in the air for the ball, and slaps it back to Klump just before she touched ground. Klump grabs it and lays it in for two."

"Folks, this is not the prettiest game I have ever seen, but it is the most fun game I have ever witnessed. The Globetrotters could not have executed a
better disaster! The Renegades have cut the lead to ten."

"Tennessee breaks the press and Adams brings the ball up the court. There's a screen set for Adams. There's the second. And there's THE THIRD SCREEN. Adams is wide open for a three and she nails it. You can't give that girl that much time cause she'll kill you with her threes. I have to give Coach Summitt credit, that was one pretty play. Tennesse is now up by 13."

"Cheyenne takes the ball out for the Renegades. She sees Trimble open at halfcourt so Cheyenne bullets a pass. Wait, where did she come from. Adams just came out of nowhere and picked off that pass. She's at the three and goes up. BANG that home, homegirl, YES! Miss Adams, you just showed why you are the #1 rated player in the country. You just made it a sixteen point game, and the Renegades call time out!"

"It's at crunch time when you find out who the great players are. Great players seem to want the ball and can make things happen. Laquisa Adams, I am glad I retired from the WNBA because with your speed and skill, I think I'd rather just watch you. Sorry folks, while the teams take their time out so will we. Don't go far cause you are watching some truly great basketball."

The light went off, so Lisa took off her headset. She looked up and there in the doorway stood Dick Vitale. Lisa got up and started to hand her headset
to Dick.

"You don't have to tell me, they told you to replace me, right?" Lisa asked.

"No way," replied Dick. "I was asked to help YOU, but only if you wanted the help. The suits at Home Base like what they hear from you. So this is your choice. I am not trying to butt in. Your choice."

Lisa ran up and hugged him "OK, Coach, but here's my deal. We both say exactly what we think. No holding back. Deal" she said as she stuck out her hand.

"Can I say Oh Baby and not offend you," he asked as he laughed. "Let's have some fun. If ever there was a game to have fun with, this is it. There's the light, let's get started."

"Welcome back, and beside me, helping to call this game, I am honored to have Coach Dick Vitale. Oh, the ref just gave the ball to Riley to inbound it."

"Lisa, I see that Tennessee has not called off the dogs. They are staying with their full court press!"

"And the Renegades have set up their Box again. What can they be thinking? I don't know that lightning will strike twice. There are the screens, now everyone's going long. There's Tennessee falling back looking for the long pass. now all of the Renegade players have reversed and all coming back to the ball. Riley easily throws it in to Vlasak," Lisa reported.

"Lisa, they just did that so they could GET the ball inbounds. It actually worked quite nicely!"

"Let me ask you this, Coach, do you think the Renegades can come back?" Lisa asked.

"What I hope for and what I think are two different things. I want them to come back. What's more exciting than a close contest between Jack and the Giant? Can they come back against Tennessee when they are down by
sixteen? I doubt it, but let's just see how much heart these girls have."

"Vlasak crosses the halfcourt," Lisa said as she picked back up on the game. "And there's Cheyenne flashing across the paint. Vlasak lobs a pass into the middle. Cheyenne catches it and ......"

"That was awesome, Baby. Did you see Cheyenne catch the ball in the air, and complete an awkward hook shot from eight feet out. She did all of this before her feet ever touched ground," Vitale screamed out.

When the cameraman saw Vitale rise in his chair, he focused in on Dick and Lisa. Both had jumped up and were hi-5'in each other.

"That's women's basketball, Coach. Most of us can't dunk, so we just find a way to make things happen," laughed Lisa. "Sometimes it's not pretty, but hey, whatever works!"

"And now Tennessee leads by 14. Tennesse's got the ball to inbound. No one's open. Holmes is looking for someone to pass to. She's looking. she's looking, and there's the whistle. Tennessee just lost the ball on a five second call. That's a mental lapse that you just don't make at this level."

Dick cut in. "Was it a mental lapse, or is this Tennessee team looking tired to you? You know, I'm sure that everyone attributes this fast paced game to
Tennessee and just assume that it's part of their game plan. But I'm not so sure that the Renegades aren't controlling the pace of this game."

"Coach, I'm inclined to agree with you. Next time each team has the ball, let's see who's playing slo-mo and who's not."

"Now Riley has the ball underneath her own basket. What is this? The other four Renegade players are about seven feet away from the baseline, and they are standing shoulder to shoulder in a small circle."

"It reminds me more of a huddle, Lisa."

"And now Vlasak steps into the middle of that 'huddle' and Riley lobs a high one into the center. Vlasak catches it in the air and with two hands almost pushes it into the basket, while still in the air. That's the craziest thing I have ever seen. You put one of the shortest players on the court and surround her with your taller players." Lisa said as she slightly pushed herself away from the counter.

"And did you see the vertical from Vlasak? Her waist was almost eye level with her taller teammates. You gotta love it. That has to be a play some 4th grade coach made up. And here we are seeing it used against the #1 team in the country, AND IT WORKED!!!! God, I love this game!" Dick was almost squealing his comments with delight. Lisa looked at him and even though he could come across as loud and obno, it was obvious he loved this game with a passion. And that, was good enough for her.

"Renegades again with their full court press, but this time Tennessee was ready for them. It only took two screens for Adams to get open and there goes she goes!" Lisa observed.

"Yeah, but watch Vlasak," Dick said excitedly. "She's going full speed to cut her off. Jeesh, she's fast. Here comes the pass. Oh Dear God! Did you see that? Can you believe that?"

"She took the charge!" screamed Lisa. "She took the charge! We gotta see a replay of that. How in the, did she ever do that?"

"Well, here's your replay," said Dick. "There's Adams at the halfcourt line. There's Vlasak running to intercept her. My God, Vlasak beat Adams to the
spot, planted her feet, folded her arms, and took the charge. And look, there's Adams in the air, and are those her knees? My God, LAdams jumped so high to catch that pass that it looks like her knees are coming down into Vlasak's chest. Play that again!"

"You're right, Coach. I don't know how Vlasak got there that quick, but her feet were planted and those are definitely Adam's knees coming DOWN into Vlasak. I hope she didn't eat a big meal before the game."

"Let's go back to the court," Lisa continued on. "We see that Adams is up and appears to be alright, but Vlasak is still down on the court. Whoap, there she goes, she's getting up. Riley is helping her to the
bench. She is bent over, holding her stomach. God that had to have hurt."

"Hurt? It had to have come close to killing her. Never in all my years have I seen anything like that. Two athletes giving it everything they have. It just
doesn't get any more intense than this. God, this is a fun game."

"Maybe for us, but I promise you Vlasak isn't having fun at the moment," Lisa replied.

Riley ran over to Blur. She was laying on the court holding her stomach. Crash could tell by the look on Blur's face that she was in some major pain. Then a look of anger and pure hatred came across Blur's face. That's when Crash knew she was going to be alright.

"So the Blur-meister took a charge for the ole team, didja?" I smiled at her. "Now don't you go trying to get even. We got ourselves a game to win!" I added in my best immo-country voice.

"Y'all come back now, ya hear," mocked Adams. That was all I could take. Adams had flat out been outplayed, and now to mock Blur. I just smiled back at her, but inside I vowed that this bitch was mine!

I called a small huddle while Blur was walking off the court. "Ten minutes left and down by twelve. I'd call that an even game, how about you?" I laughed. "I think it's time to go into hyper-drive, so let's get busy."

The ref handed me the ball. I saw JK breaking to the basket, but not quite open. Then I saw Cheyenne set a screen for Trimble, then she rolled to the basket from halfcourt once the pick was over. I threw it slightly over Cheyenne's head and right into her outstetched hands. She caught it and put it on the floor immediately. In front of her was only one player between her and the basket. "Here comes the bull in the china shop, " I mumbled. Cheyenne only knew one move when dribbling, full speed ahead and hope she didn't charge.

When Cheyenne was within two feet of her player, she did the prettiest spin move I have ever seen. She spun right around that girl and put it up and in. And in traditional Cheyenne fashion, she was fouled in the process. Down by ten with Cheyenne on the line.

I ran up and slapped her on the shoulder. "Where did that come from?" I asked.

"I never said I couldn't do them! I just don't feel comfortable doing them," she whispered. She then stepped up to the line and somehow, she laser guided one in. Down by nine.

While Cheyenne and I were talking, the Big Kahuna had checked back into the game, Johnson. I knew she had four fouls on her. I also knew that Adams had three fouls. I yelled at Cheyenne to take Johnson, and I was sticking with Laqisa. Cheyenne knew what was expected of her. Her one mission in life was to get Johnson to foul out. My mission was to shut down Adams.

Johnson took the ball out and I guessed what was coming. I fought through the first screen they set for Adams. I saw the second one coming and just started down the court to stop a possible fast break. I knew that I couldn't get through their 3 screen set again, so I just by-passed screens two and three. Sure enough, here came LAdams with the ball and at full speed.

Even though I had the head start, I wasn't sure I would get there in time to do anything but foul her. I thought of Adams taunting Blur and I got mad all over again. I don't know about anyone else, but I play better when I'm mad. I timed where I thought she would go up for the lay-up, and up I went.

"I told you before," I screamed at her. "Not in MY HOUSE!" I was airborne, and came straight across her path, but I never touched her. Just as she released the ball, I was grabbing it out of the air. I landed and put down a dribble to make sure I didn't travel. I looked down the court and it looked like I had a clear lane down the court, so I took it.

I dribbled down the court, listening for the footsteps behind you that you don't want to hear. Sure enough, I heard those footsteps rapidly gaining on me. "It's payback time," came the voice that belonged to those footsteps. I knew it was Adams. I also knew that she was that much faster than I was. Then I remembered a trick my dad used to play on me all the time.

Ever been walking about two steps behind someone. There's nothing in front of them, but they still suddenly stop. Well my dad did this to me the whole
time I was growing up. And every time I would run into his back, every time!

So I changed my angle to where I thought I was right in front of Adams. Then I put on the brakes and stopped as quickly as I could, while still dribbling the ball directly in front of me so I wouldn't travel. Adams had no time to do anything but run right into my back. The whistle blew, four on Adams.

Did it hurt? Oh yeah, it hurt! But I was 5'9" tall and a solid 160 pounds. I can throw a basketball the length of the court, and I do a lot of weights. So the joy of knowing Adams had her fourth foul outweighed the pain. I looked over to the bench and caught Blur's eye. I gave her a big two thumbs up. She laughed and signalled me back.

The ref came over and told me to go to the line for the one-and-one. We were in the bonus! Go to the line? Yes I would, and gladly. I walked up and did a couple of imaginary shots before the ref handed me the ball. But, there was something I was forgetting, something important. The ref handed me the ball and just as I was about to do my three bounce ritual I remembered. I could almost hear my dad saying it like he was yelling it from the bench.

"When you're in the second half of a fast paced game, your muscles are a lil tired. This is when you aim for the back of the rim, so your shot doesn't go short." We had all heard my dad say this 100 times.

JK looked at me. "Back of the rim, Crash!" She too had remembered.

I took my three dribbles and shot away. Nothing but net, and we were now down by eight. The ref handed me the ball. Three dribbles, up and .... Brick!

Johnson went up an grabbed the rebound. She looked around and found Adams. Slowly, she dribbled up the floor. I was guarding her, but I was staying a good seven feet in front of me. Any closer than this, and I knew that I would be asking for disaster. Adams was just that much faster than I was, and I knew it.

I was able to keep Adams outside the 3 point line. My teammates were doing great because Adams found none of her teammates open. Slowly I crept closer and closer, hoping she wouldn't pick up on the distance. At seven feet away, I was too far for the ref to call the five second rule. So I kept inching my way closer to her. Finally I thought I was close enough and I caught theref's eye. I motioned with my hand, 1, 2, 3, and he finally saw what I was trying to signal him. He started his hand count.

Adams made a move to the left, but I blocked her lane. I saw the ref start over with his hand count. I dogged her every step and cut her off before she could make a move. Evidently Coach Summitt saw the ref counting, because she started yelling at Adams to move. As Adams turned to look at her coach,I got even closer, and then the whistle blew. "Five seconds," the ref yelled!

I took the ball out and Tennessee had already pulled back onto their half of the court. Trimble stood close to me to receive the inbounds. I had no more said, "Trimble, we need to speed up this game," when Vlasak subbed back in. She ran over to us. "Miss me?" she asked. She looked at Trimble. "Time for the Blur Sisters is what Coach told me to tell you." I nodded and threw the ball in.

Vlasak took the pass and the three of us moved as one down the court. As we came close to the three point line, Trimble and I broke away to the wings. Pass to Trimble, back to Blur. A pass to me, no one open, back to Blur. Back to me.

There was JK flashing across the paint. This time I didn't hesitate. I bounced it right into her hands. JK drop stepped into Johnson's left shoulder, Johnson reached across to block the shot, and the whistle went off.

I don't know if my feet touched the ground as I raced to JK. I wrapped both arms around her and lifted her straight up.

"You did it, JK. You did it!" I screamed as I lifted her up. "Johnson is gone!" Our whole team crowded around JK by now. You'd have thought we had won
the game by the way we were acting. I dropped JK as I saw Johnson, head down, slumping her way to the bench. I almost went over to say something, but decided that would probably be seen as extremely gloating, or at least tacky.

"Foul before the shot, one-and-one only!" the ref cried. I didn't care, Johnson was gone and we had a chance to cut it to six. I looked at the clock, a little over five minutes left.

JK went to the line, and now I understand why they always say freethrows win games. She made the first and missed the second. I made the first and missed the second. Now here she was again. made the first, missed the second. Tennessee got the rebound and we were down by seven.

As they tried to make the outlet pass, Blur knocked the pass out of bounds. With that, the refs signalled for a t.v. timeout.

Lisa and Dick were in the booth just giggling like two kids, during the commercial. Finally Lisa pulled it together by the time they were back on the air.

"Coach this game has got to go down in history as one of the greatest games to WATCH, of all time," said Lisa.

"Lisa, this game has every element a game can contain. It has shown supreme athleticism. It contains hard, fast, physical action. And everytime we think we've seen it all, the Renegades come up with something new. This game has been truly awesome."

"And Coach we can add to that list. How about personal sacrifice? We have seen these players risk their futures with some of the charges they've taken tonight," Lisa added. "Well, there's the ref about ready to call the teams back out onto the floor. Tennessee has the ball and the lead byseven."

"And let's not forget that just a short time ago, Tennessee was winning by sixteen," Dick added.

Lisa took over. "And now the ref hands the ball to Holmes of Tennessee. She looks for someone to get open. She's looking, she's looking, and she fires it
to Hayden. Hayden slowly advances the ball up the court. Vlasak from the Renegades is covering her and contesting every inch of progress that Hayden makes. Coach, I think that Tennessee has answered our question about who is controlling the tempo of this game. They really are starting to look tired."

"Lisa, if I'm not mistaken, Adams has played every minute of this second half. At the speed which the Renegades have gone, Adams has got to be one tired All American," Dick replied.

"Coach, not only do I agree, but I think that Riley senses it as well. Throughout this whole game, Crash has given Adams just enough room to keep her from driving, but not enough room to launch a three. Now she seems to be playing much closer to Adams. I think she knows that Adams is tired and this means she can play a more in-your-face defense."

"Whoap, there she goes. Adams just put a spin move on Riley that left her almost breaking her ankles trying to twist to change directions. Now Adams launches a long two, and it's good! She made the shot! Tennessee just increased their lead to eight points with four minutes left."

"Lisa, you have just seen what makes her an All American. When you think a champion has nothing left in their tank, they somehow find the strength to
make the crucial play, at the crucial time," Dick smiled as he said it.

"Now here's Riley throwing the ball into Vlasak, and they both race down the court. I don't know what's keeping these Renegades going, but they seem as
fresh as when they first hit the court. Vlasak to Tirimble, Trimble to Klump, Klump passes to Cheyenne, Cheyenne passes it back out to Riley beyond the three. And Riley takes the three point shot. It's going, it's going, it goes in! Crash answers Adams with a three pointer and now the Tennessee lead has been cut to just six points," Lisa exclaimed.

"Oh Baby," yelled Dick, and by now he was yelling. "Did you see that shot? That shot had more arch than the Arch in St. Louis. If it had gone any
higher it might of hit the rafters! Riley just made it a two possession game!"

"And now Hayden takes the ball out and looks for an open teammate. There's Adams using the first pick. Now she's using the second pick. Now she's open and running down the court. Hayden rears back and let's a long pass fly."

"Oh what a mistake! The ball must have slipped in her hand right as she was releasing the pass. The ball only went about twenty feet and right into Klump's hands. She passes it to Trimble. It's the ole pass and cut! Now Klump is breaking to the basket and is wide open. Trimble sees her and skip passes a beauty to Klump. Klump catches it and ........... it's a lay-up for Klump. The Renegades were able to convert the Tennessee turn over and now it's a four point game with about 3 minutes to play." Lisa stopped to catch her breath.

"You got to feel sorry for Hayden. She's probably made that same pass a hundred times before, and flawlessly. And just when she needs a little luck, she gets bit by a one leafed clover," Dick chimed in.

"Now here's Hayden again taking the ball to throw it in. Wait, Coach Summitt is signalling for a time out. That just leaves her one full timeout left, while the Renegades have two left. Coach any thoughts you'd like to share?" asked Lisa

Dick looked up and saw the camera was focused now on he and Lisa. He leaned forward.
"If I were Coach Summitt, I'd be telling my players that I want the ball in Adams's hands. She and Johnson are the ones who got them here and that's who I'd have touching the ball. Next, I'd tell them to eat up that clock and make the Renegades foul them. The clock is the Lady Vols best friend, and the Renegades worst nightmare. This is one time, where you use your
friends."
I stood in the huddle listening to Coach. He was saying that Tennessee was probably going to try to slow it down and keep the ball in Adam's hands.
"Riley," Coach said as he turned to me. "Somehow you have to keep Adams from touching that ball. If she slips by you, another of you is going to have
to slide off your girl and take her. We are only down by four with two minutes and fifty-two seconds left. That's too much time to start fouling them. If you hear me yell 'Blitz', then it's time to foul to stop the clock. Ladies, I am so proud of you, but let's bring it home."
"And make them run," added Blur. "Make them run!"

I looked at my team. “On 3, NO REGRETS! One, two three…” And then we all screamed “NO Regrets!”
Hayden got the ball out of bounds and had a hard time finding an open teammate. Finally she got the ball to Adams and I knew I had my work cut out for me. I made her work hard for every inch that she gained down the court. She was breathing through her nose and her mouth, which normally means that they are very tired. Because of this, I closed in on her and didn't give her the normal space I had been allowing her. She tried a couple of moves, but without her previous speed so I was able to stick with her. Finally she passed it off. It was a weak pass that Trimble picked off and took off down the court with. We passed a few times around the perimeter, when Trimble got the open shot. She swished one of patented 3's and brought us within one point, with 2 minutes, 30 seconds left.

Hayden got the ball in to Adams and she slowly brought the ball down the court. I played her too tight because she suddenly flew by me like I was standing still. Up for a 12 footer, and Adams made it a 3 point game.

Blur brought the ball down the court. She saw a crack in the defense and sped her way down the lane for an easy lay-up. Down by 2, with 2 minutes left.
Our defense took a brainfart, and Hayden baseball passed the inbounds to Hayden. She was six feet ahead of Blur, heading for the basket. Somehow Blur kicked it into Blu Drive. She ran Adams down, came from behind and took the ball right away from Adams.

“Did you see that? My God, did you see that?” blurted out Vitale! “I don't know that I have ever seen a faster player, boy or girl, than Vlasak.”

Lisa snapped out of her stupor. “Coach, no one runs down Laqisa Adams like that, and yet we just witnessed it. Vlasak with the ball. Long pass to Riley, Riley pull sup for the 3, and a long rebound. Cheyenne grabs it for the renegades and gets it to Vlasak. Vlasak to ……. There was Adams waiting like a lioness waiting for her prey. Down the court and in for an easy two. Tennessee up by four.”

“Vlasak get the inbounds and races down the court. Riley sets the screen for Trimble. Trimble gets the pass, goes up for the three, and nothing but net. Rengades are down by one, with a minute five remaining on the clock. And the Renegades call a timeout.”

“Ladies, I know you're tired. But look at Tennessee, I promise you they are more tired than you are. You have a minute 5 left. If you hear anyone yell ‘Blitz', that means to foul so we can stop the clock. I just want you to know I really proud of you, but enough of that. No regrets, ladies. NO REGRETS!”

I was tired but I sure as hell wasn't ready to throw in the towel. I knew they HAD to be more tired than I was. I'm used to this pace, but I knew they weren't. When you are one of the top teams in the nation, your opponents normally try to play a slower, more controlled game. After a while you get used to playing that halfcourt game. On the other hand, we didn't know how to play anything but speedball. The faster, the better!

We ran back onto the court. This was our way of saying we were ready to run! I looked at Laqisa Adams as she took the court. She looked at me and we both smiled.

“And they are coming back out onto the court. Riley is walking over to take Adams, “ said Lisa.

“Lisa, you and I both know that Adams is going to get the ball, but so does Riley. Look, there's Riley holding out her hand to Adams. Adams takes it and they are shaking hands before the inbounds,” chimed in Vitale. “But that's like two gladiators honoring each other before battle. And, Lisa, that's what this has been, a battle!”

“Now Hayden gets the ball inbounds to Adams, with Riley on her. Slowly she brings the ball up with Riley looking for any opportunity to steam the ball. She goes to her left and approaches the 3 point line, with Riley right there on her,” Lisa said as she leaned over her microphone.

“52 seconds left and the Renegades have to make a move soon. Adams makes a move and then backs it back out”

“Lisa, that was just a feint to keep Riley at bay. Now the Renegades have to make a move,” Vitale added.

Lisa took over the mike. “Now Riley is playing right on her and Adams has to do something or get called for 5 seconds. Riley forced her to give up her dribble so she passes to Hayden. Immediately Trimble goes for the steal and fouls Hayden in the process. Hayden goes to the line for the one-and-one.”

“Lisa, Hayden is a 62% freethrow shooter. With Tennessee up by one,” said Vitale. “If Hayden makes both of these, it puts even more pressure on the Renegades. This puts an awful lot of pressure on both teams.
“Yes,” added Lisa, “But Tennessee has been in this situation for the last decade. On the other hand, the Renegades have never seen this type of pressure before!”

I stood on the line watching as Hayden prepared to shoot. I kept trying to stare through her until she let it go, then I looked to make sure I would block out my opponent. Swish! A soft sound that sent a chill through me. Down by 2.

Hayden was handed the ball again. She looked up and stared at the basket as she dribbled it 3 times. Then she let it fly. It rolled around the lip of the rim and out. I had my opponent positioned on my hip and got the bound.

I outletted to Blur and we were off with 42 seconds left, and down by 2. I ran down and set a screen for JK, to no avail. Then I set one for Trimble, and that didn't work either. As I was flashing across the middle, I saw Blur throw it my way. It was everything I could do to get the ball before the defense, and then I was swarmed. Somehow I managed to get it to Cheyenne, who got it back out to Blur.

I looked up at the clock only to find we had 20 seconds left. I set another screen for Trimble, and then JK set the second one for her, and she was open. Blur got her the ball and she launched a 14 footer. It rolled around the rim without going in. JK skied for the rebound and was fouled in the process. JK was going to the line for a one-and-one.

I walked up to her on the line. “Knees and arch, buddy. Knees and arch.”

“I know,” she replied, “and back of the rim!” She smiled. It was a tired smile, but we were all tired. I smiled back at her and took my place on the line.

JK bounced it three times, squatted real low, came up smoothly and … and nothing but air. Still down by 2. I walked over to her, smiled, and said something, I just can't remember what.

JK got the ball, squatted low, came up smoothly and made it. Down by one, with 12 seconds left. Tennessee used their last time out and we ran back to our bench.

I walked up to her on the line. “Knees and arch, buddy. Knees and arch.”

“I know,” she replied, “and back of the rim!” She smiled. It was a tired smile, but we were all tired. I smiled back at her and took my place on the line.

JK bounced it three times, squatted real low, came up smoothly and … and nothing but air. Still down by 2. I walked over to her, smiled, and said something, I just can't remember what.

JK got the ball, squatted low, came up smoothly and made it. Down by one, with 12 seconds left. Tennessee used their last time out and we ran back to our bench.

I looked up at the clock, 13 seconds left, lucky 13. My grandfather and my grandmother on my dad's side had both been born on the 13th. My dad had always told me that 13 was the Riley's lucky number.

Hayden took the ball to throw it in. I knew that it was coming to Adams. I watched her waist and stuck to her like superglue. Luckily for me she was tired and that equalized the speed difference between us. I kept one hand between her and Hayden to deflect any pass.

Finally, Hayden inbounded it to another player. Immediately that player looked for Adams but I had her covered. The player with the ball took two dribbles with Blur on her and then gave up her dribble. Blur was all over her, with her hands in her player's face
trying to block her vision. The player made the mistake of lowering the ball, and that was all Blur needed. She grabbed the ball right out of the player's hands and I screamed for a time out. The whistle blew with 4 seconds left on the clock.

"Oh my God," Lisa let rip from the booth. "With four seconds left, Vlasak gets the ball, Riley seizes the opportunity, and gets the time out."

"Lisa, this will go down in the history books as one of the greatest games ever. I can't imagine what happens next. This Renegade team just won't quit!" Vitale said with a smile in his voice the size of Alaska.

We all looked at Coach. He was furiously drawing something on his chalk board. Finally he held it up for all of us to see and expalined the play he wanted tus to use. He ended by telling us that we HAD to take any open shot and preferably to shoot into someone so we
get the foul.

We all put our hands into the huddle. "Ladies," Coach said. "This is your game to win or to lose. This is your moment, your time. On three, HEART!"

Cy was tossing it in for us. I took my spot and surveyed the court. My job was to set the screen for Trimble, then roll. JK was to set a screen for Blur, then roll to the basket.

As soon as the ref started his movement to hand the ball to Cy, we were in motion. I set my screen for Trimble, then found I couldn't roll to the basket. There was a mass of players between me and the basket, so I backed out to the 3 point line.

No one else got open so Cy skip passed it to me at the 3. I caught it, squared up to the basket, and started to let it fly, while saying a lil prayer.

I always jump forward when I let loose a 3, it helps get the ball there, especially when you have played a full game. Just as I was releasing the ball, I felt a heavy weight plow into my shooting shoulder. As I went down from the blow, I kept my eye on the ball. It went wide by about 2 feet due to the impact. The whistle blew as I hit the ground.

I jumped up and knew I was going to the line, hopefully for 3. The ref ran to the scorer's table and signaled a foul on Hayden, and I was to go to the line for ..... FOR THREE!!!!!!

The gym erupted like the boom that accompanies a volcanic eruption. My teammates swarmed me on the floor. I kept thinking something was wrong. They were acting like we had won.

"Lisa, that was just a Tennesse mental mistake made due to exhaustion!" said Vitale.

"I agree with you, Coach. Teams like Tennessee just don't make mistakes like this. Just look at Coach Summit, she can't believe it. She is in shock!," added Lisa. She saw Vitale rummaging through a stack of papers, then hold one up.

"Lisa, according to the stats sheet, Riley is an 84% freethrow shooter. This is one player that Tennessee did not want to foul," Vitale beamed into the mike. "Maybe they need to
change the old saying that defense wins games, to FREETHROWS win CHAMPIONSHIPS!" he laughed.

I stepped to the line. Behind the basket was a large group of Tennessee fans. They all held huge foam hands, signifying they were number 1. They all started waving these hysterically to distract me.

Th ref handed me the ball and I began my ritual. Three dribbles, twirl the ball in my hand, and stare at the basket the whole time. I let it fly and ..... and it wasn't pretty. It hit the back of the rim, went straight up in the air, but came down through the basket. My
teammates came over and said something, but I wasn't listening. We were down by one and I had 2 more chances.

The ref handed me the ball. Again, three dribbles, twirl the ball in my hand, and stare at the basket the whole time. I let it fly and ...... too far to the right, no basket.

Again my teammates came to me. This time I heard them say, "No regrets!"

The ref handed me the ball. I slowly exhaled and looked at the basket. I knew that we had played as well and as hard as we could. I was proud of my team. I was proud of my coach. Tears almost came to my eyes as I kept thinking I couldn't let them all down.

Three dribbles, twirl the ball in my hand, and stare at the basket the whole time. I let it fly and ..... Nothing but net, TIE GAME!

Immediately Tennessee took the ball out of bounds with 1 second left on the clock. We all covered our girls and made sure we didn't foul. Tennesse got the ball in, and launched a desperation shot that didn't even come close to the basket. We were going into
overtime.

I smiled at my teammates and coach, as I thought to myself. We had taken Tennessee into overtime in the last second of the game. It just doesn't get any better than that. God, I love this game!

by Ed Riley, copyright 2003