Chapter 394: Ashley

Tuesday, February 7th, Evening

She remembered her mom telling her: This is now; if I control myself, I control my destiny. It's stoic in a way; Brett thought as she looked around the Ashley High School Gym. Looking over to her side, she could see her fellow starters ready to take the court. Brett let one more stray thought of this could be the last time fill her mind then buried it deep down.

The team huddled together, and Brett looked them all in the eyes.

"This is the last dance; after this, it's only win or go home. I don't know about y'all, but I want to finish strong. Let's do this," Brett said.

"Is Ashley going to win on three?" Faye Ambrose, the starting point guard, asked, "One, two, three."

"Nevermore!" The team said.

They broke the huddle, and the starters walked out on the court. Brett looked at them, wearing their road blue and black. Not how she wanted to end the season, but well, she didn't make the schedule.

Taking her spot on the court and looked to center court. The ball went into the air, and the players went up after the ball. Avril got after the ball and tapped the ball. Brett blocked out her player and tracked the ball. It was all about the feel and instinct; that way, you can almost be several places at once.

Brett stepped forward and went up for the ball. Securing the ball, Brett landed, squared up, and started down the court. As soon as she could, Brett passed the ball off to Faye.

"Delta!" Faye called out, signaling the offense.

Brett and the rest of the girls found their spots on the court. Faye pulled up at the top of the key. The three-point shot bounced off the rim. The ball sailed out, and Brett went up for it, snagging the ball.

Off-balance and out of position, Brett passed the ball to Avril. With a quick move, Avril put it in for the first points of the game.

Brett untangled herself and ran down the court to play defense. It was time to do her job. As the Ashley team was coming down the court, Brett's eyes locked onto her player. A moment in time popped into Brett's mind.

"Brett, what's wrong?" her dad asked.

Eleven-year-old Brett looked up to her dad. "The coach moved me from guard," Brett said.

"Her dad nodded. "What position did he move you to?" he asked.

"Power forward," Brett said.

"Uhmm," her dad said.

"What does that mean?" Brett asked.

"I played power forward," her dad said.

"You did?" Brett asked.

"Yes, and you know what the good thing about being the power forward?" her dad asked.

"What, Daddy?" Brett asked.

"Yes, set the tone on defense," her dad said.

Brett watched Ashley came into the zone. Her eyes tracked the ball, and it clicked; Ashley would try to big boy them. That means one thing, and Brett knew the answer.

The Ashley power forward pushed into the paint. The ball sailed in, and Brett connected the dots and knew where she needed to be. Brett moved like a cat and got into position, just as the ball handler went for their shot. Brett went up with a big hand and knocked the ball away cleanly. The whistle blew, ending the play as the ball flew out of bounds.

Brett looked at her opposite number and smiled.

"Lucky, brett," The Ashley power forward said.

"No luck, all skill, Caileigh," Brett said.

"Shut up and play," Caileigh said.

"I'll be here all night," Brett said.

The ball was inbounded, and Brett boxed out her player. The ball came into the paint, to which Avril and Brett reacted to break up the play.

Ashley kept moving the ball around, but there were no open shots. The shot clock expired, changing the possession. Brett walked to the baseline and inbounded the ball.

The first quarter was marked by the amped-up Ashley players putting up a hard fight. There weren't a lot of fouls, but the game was physical. As the teams walked off the court at the end of the quarter, Tree Hill scored fourteen to Ashley's eight.

Brett stood on the sideline and got some water. She looked around the gym and noticed the Tree Hill colors were very present in the stands.

"Brett, it's time," Coach Sinclair said.

"Yes, Coach," Brett said and went out to play.

The second quarter was much of the same. Ashley was still trying to play big; Tree Hill played their game, as they were taught. Half-time came next, with the players returning to the locker rooms. Tree Hill only scored eight to Ashley's resurgence with ten points, making the score Tree Hill twenty-two, Ashley eighteen.

In the locker room, Brett looked at the team. "They're trying to big boy us, and we're letting them. We can't; we won't go out like this; this is Ashley, for Christ's sake," Brett said.

"Well, they're roughing me up, B," Baylee said.

"No, excuses, Bay," Avril said.

Brett looked at her friend, and another lesson from her dad came to her.

"Brett, you know what another job of the power forward is?" her dad asked.

"No," a thirteen-year-old Brett said.

"You're not only the enforcer on defense, but you're the bodyguard on offense," her dad said.

"You are?" Brett asked.

"If you have to, you protect your best shooter," her dad said.

Brett looked at Baylee. "Bay, I got you; they'll not bother you the rest of the game," she said.

"Can you deliver?" Baylee asked.

"Watch me," Brett said.

The second half started, and Tree Hill came out to play. True to her word, Brett made sure no one ran up on Baylee, which stirred Tree Hill's offense. With the offense working, it made defense easier. The quarter ended with Tree Hill adding twelve points to Ashley's seven, making the score thirty-four Tree Hill to Ashley's twenty-five.

On the sideline, Brett sat catching her breath. She looked down at her jersey, took in the number thirty, and thought about another conversation with her dad.

"So, number thirty," her dad said.

"Yes, my jersey number is thirty," fourteen-year-old Brett said.

"You couldn't be fifty-one?" her dad asked.

"I didn't want it," Brett said.

"Why?" her dad asked.

"I want to be me," Brett said.

"I can respect that," her dad said, "But why thirty?"

"I like Brenna Stewart," Brett said.

"She's a special player," her dad said.

"I know," Brett said.

"You wear the same number; you have to live up to it," her dad said.

"I understand," Brett said.

The fourth quarter started with Brett on the court with the starters. Looking around the gym, Brett looked into the crowd and found Mama Chase in the stands. Brett smiled and turned back to the game.

As the gameplay started, Brett showed her offensive prowess. It began with a shot from the three-point arc. Over the next few minutes, Brett put on a clinic on how to play power forward. About halfway through the quarter, Coach Scott started to put the bench in.

As the last two minutes of the game started, Brett came out of the game. Looking around the gym, she finally dried her face with a towel. Brett looked up at the scoreboard; Tree Hill scored fifty-one points to Ashley's thirty-two.

Brett smiled and nodded; it was an excellent way to end the season.