Chapter 635: The Broadcast
Saturday, March 11th, Afternoon
The quarter was livelier than the first. Nodding, he watched the two teams fight it out. They were grinding away at each other. Trey could hardly believe they were still feeling each other out, but he finally smiled.
"Ball is coming into play; Pierce-Burke broke up the pass; she secures the ball and drives down the court. Pierce-Burke is on a fast break down the court. Pierce-Burke is on a fast break towards the hoop," Trey said, "Pierce-Burke broke free and laid up the ball for two points. Pierce-Burke has been one of the three pillars that are the team's foundation. Where Miller is known for her offensive output, Popova is the defensive force, Pierce-Burke is the balancing force for the team."
Trey took a sip of water and watched as Northwest Guilford started down the court. Pierce-Burke picks up her player and shadows them. The ball came in.
"Pierce-Burke deflects the pass; the ball is free towards the top of the arch. Northwest Guilford secures the ball and starts their game of passing the ball. The ball is moving across the key, and Pierce-Burke intercepts the pass. Pierce-Burke passes the ball to Miller. Miller has the ball and fast breaks down the court. Baylee Miller for the layup and two points," Trey said.
Northwest Guilford was back on the offense. They methodically moved down the court. Northwest Guilford passed the ball around, and they are passing it towards O'Brien.
"Play has stopped, defensive foul on O'Brien, her first. Northwest Guilford is going to the line for two shots. They made the first one. The question is are they going to try to make the second shot, or will they miss it and try to make it a three-point play. The ball is up a brick. Bodies are colliding, reaching for the ball. Popova has the ball and outlets the ball to Miller. Miller passes to Ambrose; Tree Hill is pushing down the court; Ambrose passes to O'Brien. O'Brien is driving towards the net; O'Brien is up for the layup behind the pick of Pierce-Burke. O'Brien for two," Trey said. He paused and took a long pull of his water.
Trey watched the team head down the court. Looking over to the bench, Trey noticed two players get up from the bench, and the two girls walked over to the scoring table.
"Lopez and Jade Loyal are checking in. The question is for whom is Loyal going in? Will Coach Scott rest Pierce-Burke or O'Brien? We'll find out at the next whistle," Trey said.
At the next whistle, the two girls went into the game. Popova and O'Brien came out of the game to rest.
'Lopez is in for Popova, and Jade Loyal is back in the game, with O'Brien taking a rest. It looks like that Coach Scott is trying to rest his players for the second half," Trey said and watched as play started again.
"We now know why Jade Loyal has been sitting. The injury to her hand at the end of the last game still bothers her. Jade Loyal seems to be having issues handling the ball; it looks like one of the steadiest players is not one hundred percent; how is that going to affect the second half?" Trey said, nodded, and took a sip of his water.
Trey looked down to the bench and saw three more Tree Hill players walking toward the scoring table. Trey made a note of who was checking in.
"O'Brien, Connors, and Cooper are checking in. At the next whistle, we'll see who they are going in for. I didn't expect Coach Scott to dip down towards his sophomores on his beach. Tree Hill is short on experience for guards on this team. Which has forced Ambrose and Miller to play many more minutes than Coach Scott would've liked," Trey said.
The whistle sounded, and the three Tree Hill Players entered the game. Pierce-Burke, Ambrose, and Miller came off the court. Trey saw three people take their seats; Miller and Pierce-Burke took a seat on either side of Popova.
"Tree Hill only has one starter out on the court now, and that is small forward Jade Loyal. The other four players on the court are Lopez, O'Brien, Conners, and Cooper. It looks like Coach Scott is trying to run out the time on the clock. I'm not sure why Coach Scott is being conservative," Trey said.
The clock slowly ran down, and the players kept the game going. As the final minutes ran down, neither team seemed to be pushing too hard. When the buzzer sounded, the first half of the North Carolina Girl's high school basketball game was over.
"The players leave the court for halftime. The story of the game is this was a slow grinding ball control game. The Tree Hill starters played most of the first quarter except for Jade Loyal. It appears that Jade Loyal's hand injury from the last game is still bothering her. Most of the first and second quarter has been played with Flannery O'Brien at small forward, but on a positive note, Jade Loyal is third on the team in points in the first half with three.
"The Tree Hill player that stood out in the first half is power forward Brett Pierce-Burke, who is tied for the team lead in points with shooting guard Baylee Miller, both with eight.
"For those joining us late, we're at halftime for the North Carolina Girls High School basketball championship game. Your Tree Hill Ravens lead the Northwest Guilford Vikings, twenty-one to sixteen.
"The only significant news for injuries is starting small forward Jade Loyal is still suffering from a hand injury she received in the last game. No other players have in the previous game. No other players have been injured as of now; we'll keep you up to date as we get the information.
"As part of halftime, we'll have a guest analysis and discuss the first half of the game. For statics of the first half are as follows, Pierce-Burke eight points, Miller eight points, Jade Loyal three points, O'Brien two points," Trey said.
He flipped a few things, muted his microphone, and started playing a commercial. Trey looked over the court and saw some halftime stuff going on. He removed his headphones and rubbed his ears before he reached for his water bottle. After one deep pull, he looked to see his guest waiting for him.
"Thank you for coming and being on air," Trey said.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world," they said and took their seat.
