“Play your game!” Coach shouted at Mercedes as the fourth quarter ticked down. Game she had—twenty points: five threes, two layups, and one foul shot. She loved playing on the road; it was something about making the opposing crowd hate you and then breaking them. Pleasant Grove, the host of the tournament, had, as always, found themselves in the final game against North.
“You got this?” Cheryl asked. Mercedes smiled in reply. She looked into the crowded stands to see her family, which included Jade. They’d left the hospital to see Mercedes in action. Mercedes knew she couldn’t let them down. If she was really going to “let it be,” she’d need to focus on the present, not the past. She didn’t see the Auburn scout in the stands, but she forced the future and past out of her mind.
“Play your game!” Coach yelled to the team. Mercedes felt the words in her bones.
Game. Total game. That’s what Coach had taught her. She could always pass, shoot, and run faster than anyone. That’s all that mattered on the playgrounds. But in college, Mercedes knew a player couldn’t be one-dimensional. Sure, you could come off the bench, make some threes, but that meant you were a specialist. Not a real player, an athlete, a leader.
“Yes!” Coach shouted as Mercedes reached out, tipped the pass, stole the ball, and dribbled like a demon as they’d practiced a hundred times. This wasn’t playing; it was Mercedes’s muscles and mind remembering what to do when. Perfect pass. Assist. Two more North points.
Despite Mercedes playing tight D and scoring when she got a clear shot, Pleasant Grove kept the game close. In the lead by one with five seconds left, Coach called a safe play. A.J. inbounded but Cheryl couldn’t pass. About to be fouled, Cheryl passed to Mercedes. With no pass, Mercedes ducked the swarming D and hurled the ball toward the net like an orange comet. As she shot, Mercedes tumbled to the floor and was deafened by boos from the hometown crowd and cheers from her team, who grabbed their phones to catch a falling star in motion.