Chapter 627: Sidelines

Saturday, March 11th, Afternoon

After the anthem, she walked down the sidelines and collected all the post players around her. She took a knee, rather painfully, and was surrounded by the girls. Looking over to the guards were doing the same with their position coach. They would get the final talking from Coach Scott and then off to the floor. She looked each girl over and knew each by name. It had been a long season; they had grown together, and still, she wondered how many she would see in the gym tomorrow after today.

Ashlyn looked at each girl, making eye contact. In her head, she checked off each name in her head. It always started with Brett; next was Avril, then Jade, Evalyn, Flannery, Cameron, and she always ended with Jewell. They were a good unit, even though Cameron and Jewell didn't play much.

"Alright, be careful in the paint, they like to penetrate, but if we play smart and our game, we should be good," Ashlyn said; the girls nodded. They came together in one huddle with Coach Scott at the head.

"Go out, have fun, play smart and play our game, and we'll be fine; now, play your hearts out," Coach Scott said, "Hands in."

"Ready for combat on three," Faye said, "One…two…three."

"Ready for combat!" the girls said. Ashlyn watched as the five starters headed off to the court. The bench started to take their place, and with a nod, Ashlyn took her seat near Coach Scott. Ashlyn looked down the bench at the other girls settled in.

"You know, I hate that ready-for-combat stuff," Coach Scott said.

"Why don't you make them stop it?" Ashlyn asked.

"Because the girls picked it, and it gave them an identity," Coach Scott said.

"I guess so," Ashlyn said.

"It's a good thought, but with Keith and what happened, I'm not so sure," Coach Scott said.

Ashlyn nodded; Coach Scott's only son was in Europe with the North Carolina National Guard. There had been tensions over there, which involved a brief exchange of weapons fire. Keith's unit was involved in it, but most people have taken the stance no news is good news.

"Well, they've been keeping quiet about it; we don't even know if Keith was involved," Ashlyn said.

"Keith was involved," Coach Scott said.

"How do you know that? Only one name was released," Ashlyn said.

"He was Keith's tank commander," Coach Scott said.

"Keith may not have been on the tank," Ashlyn said.

"I just know," Coach Scott said.

"How?" Ashlyn asked.

"The man killed was Keith's tank commander," Coach Scott said.

"Oh," Ashlyn said.

Coach Scott nodded, "Enough with the melancholy; we have a game to coach," he said.

"Yes, we do," Coach Sinclair said from Coach Scott's other side.

"What do you think they'll do?" Coach Scott asked.

"Logic is they will, but their best defender on Brett and give her help," Ashlyn said.

"Who do you think will be open?" Coach Scott asked.

"I think it will be Jade, if not Faye," Ashlyn said.

"I'm thinking they'll let Faye advance unopposed and only cover her when she's in range to shoot," Coach Sinclair said.

"Makes some sense," Ashlyn said.

"We shall see," Coach Scott said.

Ashlyn nodded and opened the scouting report for one last look. With a sigh, she closed it and turned her attention to the court just as the jump ball went up. Avril sailed high and tipped the ball. Faye tangled up with her opposite number; the ball was open for anyone.

Baylee was the one moving; she dodged around bodies and reached up for the ball. Securing the ball, she pivoted and looked for an outlet. It was Jade that turned out to be open.

Jade dribbled the ball once, twice, three times, and passed the ball to Faye as she broke free. The players were rumbling down the court, and Faye kept her head on a swivel. Another quick outlet pass to Baylee as she ran down the court.

Baylee caught the ball in stride and pushed into the paint. One dribble, two dribble, three dribble, then into the air. Baylee sailed through the air and laid up the ball for two points. Tree Hill drew first blood, and it was one of the senior co-captains to do it, Baylee Miller.

The team was heading the other way now. Ashlyn kept an eye on them to set up their defense. Northwest Guilford set up a methodical pace down the court. A light bulb went off in Ashlyn's head. This was how they would play, ball control and running the clock down. This should be interesting to watch.

The Northwest Guilford point guard started to move around the arch. Tree Hill switched off who was covering them. As the shot clock started to count down, the point guard passed the ball across the key toward another player.

Ashlyn noticed they chose to pass to the player in front of Brett. It should be interesting to see how this played out. The player went up to shoot over Brett. Brett jumped up and reached out with her hand and got a hand on the ball. The speed of the ball came bulleting down towards the Parque. The ball hit the court with a resounding noise and sailed out of bounds as the referee called a stop of the play for a shot clock violation.

Brett stood on the baseline and passed it in towards Faye. Brett turned down the court and started to run down the court. Faye pushed down the court, looking for the defenders and teammates.

Faye passed the ball off to Jade. Taking possession of the ball, Jade bounced the ball and turned to take her shot. A Northwest Guilford player went over the top of Jade, and the player was called dead, as the foul was called on Northwest Guilford.

Jade took her spot at the foul line. She bounced the ball a few times at the line and looked at the hoop. After a few more bounces, Jade pulled the ball up and took her shot. The ball hit the glass, landed on the hoop, and rolled in the basket. A Northwest Guilford player got the ball.

Getting the ball back, Jade bounced the ball and pulled it up for her second foul shot. The ball sailed and went wide, bouncing off the backboard. The game was live as the ball fell into play. A Northwest Guilford player rebounded the ball and passed it to their point guard.

Ashlyn looked on from the bench and nodded. This is going to be a game; she reflected as Northwest Guilford pushed down the court.