The Friday game against North Redford was at home, and the South Redford Tigers were ready. Practice had gone well all week — Jessie and Shaena had stayed late every night to work together, and the team had never been more in sync.
Now that game day was actually here, though, Shaena was feeling nervous. It wasn’t just her normal pregame butterflies, either. She sat on the bench in the locker room and took in big breaths to try to calm her nerves.
“Shaena, are you okay?” someone asked.
Shaena looked over her shoulder to see Jessie coming over to the bench.
“I’m really nervous,” Shaena admitted. “I . . . I don’t want to get hurt again.” She kept thinking about what Dr. Lee had said — that she was more likely to get a concussion now that she’d already had one. “I didn’t think about it much this week. But that’s because I was just playing with you guys.”
“Ugh, I know the feeling,” said Jessie as she sat down.
“You do?” asked Shaena.
“Yeah. I broke my finger last season at my old school,” said Jessie. She cringed at the memory. “It healed pretty fast, but I was afraid to use that hand for a while.”
“How did you stop being afraid?” asked Shaena.
Jessie shrugged. “I just kept playing,” she said. “It was only my first season, but I loved basketball right away. Nothing could keep me off the court.”
Shaena laughed. She had never realized she and Jessie had so much in common.
“I know the feeling. Thanks for listening, Jessie,” said Shaena, standing up. “Now let’s go show those North players how South plays basketball!”
* * *
As the two teams got ready for the jump ball, Shaena took her spot. But it wasn’t at the center of the court. Jessie was taking the jump ball today.
Shaena didn’t mind, though. Jessie was almost as tall as she was and had done a good job in the past game. Shaena also suspected that the coach knew she was feeling a little nervous.
The ref tossed the ball straight up. Jessie jumped and easily won the tip. She landed on the ground with the ball.
“Jessie!” Marisol called. Jessie passed back to Marisol, who started dribbling down the court.
What do I do? Shaena wondered. She was so used to doing the jump ball that she hadn’t thought about where to go on the floor.
After a quick decision, she ran to the basket and called to Marisol over her shoulder. Marisol’s pass sailed into Shaena’s outstretched arms. She took one dribble, then shot.
The ball smacked the backboard and fell back to the floor. She’d missed. Thankfully Christine was there in a flash. She quickly grabbed the rebound and scored.
As Shaena jogged to the other side of the court, Marisol passed her. “You’ll get the next one, Shaena,” she said.
Shaena wasn’t so sure. She never missed layups! A thought passed through her mind. What if I’m not ready to be back? But she quickly shook off that idea and focused on the game.
North was one of the toughest teams in the conference, and it showed. They quickly battled back with a long three-pointer, but Annie answered with a three-pointer of her own to put South up by two. The lead teeter-tottered back and forth for a few minutes before Coach Riley signaled to the referee for a time-out.
“Great job out there, team!” she said. “But let’s try to slow it down a little bit. North has more players than we do, so we need to conserve our energy.”
Shaena nodded, breathing hard. She was already pretty tired, and the game was only a few minutes old. The week off had really affected her endurance.
“Instead of trying to trade more three-pointers with them, let’s make that post player of theirs work,” Coach continued.
Shaena shot Jessie a grin. This was the chance they’d been waiting for.
* * *
Shaena and Jessie each took their spot on the blocks, just outside of the painted area on either side of the basket. After the time-out, Shaena was feeling pumped and ready to break down North’s defense. She knew Jessie and she were ready.
Marisol took the ball and dribbled down the court. She passed to the other guards, Annie and Christine, around the outside. They kept the ball on the perimeter, waiting for North’s defense to make a mistake. Soon they did.
Shaena’s defender grew impatient and ran to the ball to try to make a play, leaving Shaena unguarded. It was the opening South needed.
“Ball!” called Shaena. Marisol quickly flicked the ball to her.
It zipped straight into Shaena’s hands. She turned to shoot, but Jessie’s defender had already darted over.
But now Jessie was wide open. “Shaena!” Jessie yelled, her hands out and ready for the ball.
Without hesitation, Shaena passed to the other post. Jessie caught the ball, turned, and took the shot in one smooth motion. The ball rushed through the air — and straight into the net!
“Great shot, Jessie!” Shaena said, giving her a high five as they ran to the other side of the court.
“Great pass!” Jessie returned.
On defense, Shaena and Jessie double-teamed the North post every chance they got. She couldn’t score with both girls guarding her, and she couldn’t see around them to pass to her team.
During one time-out, Shaena could hear the North post complaining to her teammate.
“I can’t do anything with those two around!” she whined as she jogged to the sideline. “I can’t see. I can’t shoot. What am I supposed to do?”
Shaena felt a little bad for her opponent, but she was happy to hear that their strategy was working. Still, North was a talented team, and they took advantage of every missed shot and turnover South made. At the end of the third quarter, North took the lead after a few expert three-pointers and fast layups.
But South wasn’t about to give up. Shaena and Jessie stayed focused, and their teamwork made all the difference. They continued to block the North post, allowing South to step up on offense.
Soon South had taken back the lead. Shaena was having so much fun playing great basketball with Jessie and Marisol, though, that she hardly noticed the score. The clock ticked down until . . .
BUZZZ!
The home crowd in the stands let out a wild cheer. The Tigers had stayed focused and it showed — South was up 43–36. They’d won!
Shaena let out a happy, exhausted sigh as she jogged off the court. She couldn’t remember a game ever going by that quickly.
Coach Riley’s smile was enormous when she entered the locker room. “Wow. What can I say? That was a great team effort for a hard-fought win. Shaena and Jessie, your extra work this week really showed,” she said. “Fantastic job, everyone.”
After the coach had dismissed the team, Marisol came over to Jessie and Shaena. She slung her arms around their tall shoulders.
“Well, after that incredible win, I’m feeling hungry,” Marisol told them. “So how about you two MVPs? Are you hungry, Jessie? Because I know Shaena’s always hungry.”
Shaena nodded seriously. “It’s true.”
Jessie grinned. “I’m starving!”
“Then how about pizza? My house?” Marisol asked.
“Deal!” Jessie and Shaena shouted at the same time, and the three girls burst out laughing.
As they headed out, Shaena couldn’t have been happier to be sharing the spotlight with her new teammate — and friend.