There are twenty seconds on the shot clock during the forth quarter; we are down by two points. The head coach screams “time-out” to the referee. Teammates and I gather around the little board as she displays the strategy that is going to determine what we are made of.

Adrenaline is rushing through the body making my heart beat at a faster than normal. As the time-out is over our eyes look like an eagle, ready for its prey. People in the stands staring at every move, every shot, and every detail, as I throw the ball in my hands are shaking.

Andrea runs through two screens to get the open jump shot, as she elevates and follows trough the entire gymnasium is observant. As the ball is in the air I quickly step in front of my defender in case my teammate misses. And she did the ball went in and out, the shot clock certainly was against us, but my effort paid of being in the right spot at the right time. I grabbed the rebound and using the glass as my aid I shot the ball. YEAH! That’s all I hear as teammates sprint to hug me. The crowd’s excitement is inevitable and we encounter an opportunity to victory by forcing what seemed impossible to many.

Heading to overtime, despite are fatigue and tribulations we were hungry for a win and knew that that mentality would not be possible if the love and passion for basketball didn’t connect us. At the end of over time tears of joy were shred, bodies were shaking of extreme fatigue, but it all made sense the two miles everyday, heavy weights with Coach Smith, and long drills were the once that brought us to this point. We triumphed over the expectations as well as the consider toughest team in the district.

As we headed back to the locker room Coach Martin’s face was astonished. She gave us a motivational speech that excelled the confidence and faith that we already possessed. With this victory we literally were ready to take the whole world down. And with this mentality we headed towards the rest of the season where we had ups and downs such as injuries, and me fouling out pretty much every game including our last game of the season against Frisco High School.

Spending many hours together in and out the Gym the girls in the basketball team have become part of my family and have helped me improve my skills and abilities but growth as a human being was the result of this marvelous experience.