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“Ledger?”
“Yeah?”
“When Layne runs point, I want you to get that double-team off her. She’s made three threes for us tonight. I need her to get the ball and get open.”
Ledger nodded.
“Hilton, great job staying out of foul trouble. You’ve got four to give. Use them in this half, but be smart.”
Hilton nodded, too.
“Hey, we’re only down by four,” Coach encouraged them. “No one thought we’d be here this far in the game. Hell, no one even thought a twelve seed would make it out of the Sweet Sixteen, but here we are. We deserve to be here. You remember that when you go out there and get back on that court.”
Minutes later, they went back out and shot around, getting warmed back up for the second half.
“You know what?” Shay said just to her.
“What?”
“I love you.”
Layne smiled and said, “Okay. Well, I love you, too. Why are you so happy? We’re losing.”
“I’m not,” Shay replied with a shrug. “I’m not losing, I mean.” She smacked Layne on the ass.
“Babe!” Layne laughed before adding, “And that’s a pretty good line, by the way.”
“It’s the truth. I don’t know if we are going to win. I want to, but they’re better than us. It’s pretty easy to see. What I do know is that, even if we lose today, I still win because tonight, you’ll be in my room with me.”
“Yes, I will.”
“And when we get back to the dorm, you’ll be with me there, too, right?”
“We still need to be smart,” Layne replied. “I don’t want to get kicked out of the dorm before the end of the year.”
“We will. But I don’t want to stay away from you anymore.”
“I don’t want that, either,” Layne said. “Now, head back in the game, Captain.” She bumped Shay’s shoulder playfully.
When the game restarted, Dunbar made a quick two, but within the next three minutes, they were down by eight. Then, ten. Then, twelve, and it seemed almost impossible for them to climb back, with the other team making just about every shot they were taking and Dunbar in a slump.
After two time-outs, they finally made their first basket in five minutes.
“Hey, let’s go!” Shay yelled after she hit it and slapped their hands as they ran back on defense. “We’re not out of this!”
Her faith in them helped, and they managed a turnover and a shot. Then, two more. Layne made a three, and at the beginning of the fourth quarter, they were back to being down by four.
“Hey, we’ve been hanging in. Now, let’s amp it up. I want the lead,” Shay said when they huddled up at the free-throw line. “Let’s show them how we got here.”
Layne ran the baseline as fast as she could, caught the ball, shot, and made the three. On the next play, Ledger caught a sloppy pass and got it up to Shay, who made the layup. Shay then landed awkwardly but told Layne she was fine, just needed a rest, and went to the bench.
Layne was on point. Ledger did her job and got her open. With four minutes left, Layne made a two, shortening Dunbar’s deficit to only one.
With three minutes left, Shay was back in the game, but Coach had Layne run the next play. They got Shay open, and she made another three. Dunbar was now tied with the number one team in the country.
With thirty seconds left, Dunbar played the tightest defense of their lives because they were still tied, and when the shot went up, they all watched it in almost slow motion, silently praying it didn’t go in. The ball bounced off the rim, and by the time the other team got the offensive rebound, the buzzer had sounded. They were going to overtime.
They were wiped, and Layne knew it, but as she looked over at the other huddle, she could tell the other team was, too. She wasn’t sure they’d had to play this hard all season. If everyone was tired now, though, Dunbar might have a chance. They’d play for another five minutes, and someone would be crowned a national champion.
