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“We’re doing pros only right now, Stoll.” Shay pointed at her.
“If you’re staying, that’s a pro.”
Shay dropped the finger that had been pointing.
“It is?” she asked.
Layne nodded again.
CHAPTER 33
They were deep in the fourth quarter, playing the number four team on their side of the bracket, Virginia. Shay had been held to only nine points and two rebounds, along with only one assist, which was probably why Coach took her out and had her sit at the top of the fourth quarter. She’d been sitting for over five minutes now, waiting for her chance to get back in the game. Layne was running point, though, and she had scored thirteen points, had a few rebounds, and several assists. Layne even had a steal, and man, did she look good right now… She was in command of the whole court, and while Shay wanted back in, Layne was playing so well that Dunbar was only down by two. They also had the ball right now, with the chance to tie or take the lead. When Layne hit a three and they did take the lead, Shay and the rest of the players on the bench jumped up to celebrate.
With four minutes left, Dunbar had the momentum.
“Shay!”
Shay jumped up and jogged over to the coach.
“We’re going to have the TV time-out in a second. You’re going in after it to finish the game. Layne’s tired, but I’m keeping her in. I want her to run point while you go out to the wing. Confuse them a little.”
“Okay,” Shay replied just as Ledger stole the ball and threw it ahead for Layne, who slowed the pace down a little.
They were still up by one, so while they wanted to score, they also needed to stall a little, too, because Virginia’s center had been on point all night, and Hilton had four fouls on her, so she couldn’t be as aggressive. Layne called the play and ran it. The ball went to Hilton, who passed it to Ledger, who whipped it around to Layne, who dribbled in like she was going to run for it and passed it off to Hilton instead, who made a quick two off the glass and earned the foul, giving her one free throw to take after the TV time-out.
“Yes!” Shay yelled.
There were three minutes and forty seconds left, and they were up by three, with the chance to go up by four. Coach called them all over, and they talked about the next play after the free throw. Then, the buzzer went off, and Shay walked back out on the court.
“I’ve got Fourteen,” Shay said.
“I’ve got Nineteen,” Layne said with a smile.
“You’re amazing, you know that?”
“Huh?”
“You. You’re amazing,” Shay repeated. “You’ve kept us in this thing.”
“It’s not over yet, so hold that thought,” Layne told her.
But Shay knew that no matter the outcome, Layne was amazing. She’d played longer than she had all season, and she’d played incredibly well, carrying them when Virginia had clearly taken notes on how Shay played, so Shay hadn’t been as open or able to make her shots as she normally was.
Shay took her spot on the line and waited for Hilton to make her free throw. As Virginia took the ball out, Shay and Layne pressed while Hilton went back to protect against the long ball. Shay then saw Layne grab the ball from the player she was guarding, and she held on to it until a jump ball was called by the ref. It was still Virginia’s ball, but that play had eaten up a few seconds of the clock, and now, Dunbar had possession should another jump ball happen, which could be very helpful later.
When they inbounded again, Shay used her speed, got ahead of the inbound pass, and smacked it more than grabbed it. Ledger was there, so she kept it from going out of bounds. It ended up in Layne’s hands, and she took a quick open shot. It bounced off the rim but bounced out to where Shay was. Shay fought for the rebound and brought the ball back out to half-court. They now had possession with only three minutes and ten seconds left. Shay could kill twenty seconds, so she passed to Layne, who took over at point and went to the wing. When Layne called the play, Shay ran the baseline, got some help from Hilton, and got to the corner just in time to accept the pass. With five seconds left on the shot clock, she fired up a three and hit it.
Their lead was now seven. Virginia called a time-out, unable to wait for the under-two-minute TV time-out, and Shay could feel it now. There were still three minutes left, and anything could happen, but she could feel it. Coach told them to hold the ball and force fouls, which they already knew. She told them to be aggressive on defense but not to foul out. Shay only had two fouls on her. Layne had three, but if she was careful, she’d be fine. Ledger had three, too, but she’d gotten all three in the first half, so Shay wasn’t worried.
Back on the court after a brief time-out, she lined up with the player she was guarding and held her hand out, trying to keep it between the player and the ball that would be inbounded soon. When they tried to get it over the half-court line, one of their players tossed the ball back too far, and it ended up in the backcourt, which was a violation, so Dunbar got the ball back. Now, Shay could really feel it. Virginia knew they were going to lose. Their heads were down, and Dunbar’s were all up. Shay inbounded this time and got it to Layne, who was too fast for the hands trying to foul her. Layne got it back to Shay, their best free-throw shooter, and she was fouled. With no fouls for Virginia to give, she would be going to the line.
???
“How are we going to the Sweet Sixteen?” Hilton asked in the locker room while they all celebrated.
“I know. It’s crazy,” Shay said, shaking her head. “I can’t believe it.”
“You realize we’re either going up against the number one or the number nine seed? So, really, the number one,” Hilton pointed out.
