Tears of Warriors

...it's all over. My career as a Hamden Hall Girls Varsity Basketball Player has come to an end as of last night. I can't go back in time. I can't fix the mistakes I made. I can't wish for a better outcome.

I still get butterflies in stomach going into every game. That is just how I have been ever since I started playing basketball, but for me nervous is good. I rather be a little bit nervous before the game than to be overly confident about the way the game is going to go. The nerves go away at the tip-off. But at yesterday's game, I had a lot more emotions going on. That was my last game ever at Hamden Hall. I knew that I wouldn't be playing on the Beckerman Court 1 ever again. I knew that it was very close to the end and that everything would be over soon, but I didn't let those emotions affect me in the game. We knew close to nothing about Lexington Christian coming into Friday's game. to me that is all for the better. We don't have to worry about having a practice that targets their key players, we just play. All we needed to do was play basketball, and that's what we did, but we came up short. I wasn't due to a lack of effort or determination, it just came down to a game of runs, and they had more runs than us. We honestly gave it all we had. the most frustrating part is that we never had momentum for more than one possession in this game, and I guess I can credit Lexington Christian for that. We trailed for the majority of the game, the only time we led was in the opening minutes. Every time we came back or had a scoring spurt, they would come back with an answer. It was unbelievable in all the games I played I had never felt like this. Every single possession was sacred. What we did with those possessions would be the key to us winning. Since we lost, you would think that we might have lacked on the defensive end. I thought we played really good defense, but somehow they always found an uncontested lay-up to the basket.

Trailing is the worst feeling in the world, especially when your team's shots haven't gone in all night. The two leading area three-point shooters, Rachel Plotke and Kelsey McCray together only made two or three 3's. It seemed like every shot rimmed in and out. No one could really get in an offensive flow. And to add onto that most of our team is sick and playing through injuries. Although those aren't excuses, those definitely affected us in the long run.

As the final seconds were winding down, I couldn't seem to cope with reality. We really lost. As soon as the buzzer rang, I just busted into tears. I couldn't hold it in.

Going into the team room everyone sat in the same spots they always do. The tears began to flow from my eyes once again, but then I started to hear the whimpers and cries of my teammates. My team being so young I was shocked that nearly everyone was crying. It just comes to show how much they care and love for the game and this team. Coach Borelli, Coach Fortune, and Coach Callahan walk in. I didn't really know what they were going to say. Were they going to be disappointed that we didn't win? Were they going to be happy regardless? Well, certainly they showed that they were affected by the loss too. As Coach Borelli talked she held back tears and as Coach Fortune talked I could hear the sadness and hurt in his voice. We have come so far to end up so close to our final goal, but you can't win them all I guess.

Those tears shed in the team room were tears of warriors. They were tears of girls who I have come to know and love through this long season. I don't want to take any moment back. I don't want to let go of this glorious season, but I have to. My heart goes out to my teammates. I know they wanted to win so bad, and I know they left everything on the court, and that is something I want them to be proud of. On the bright side, we were the first girls' team in history at Hamden Hall to win the Fairchester Championship. We have to be proud of that.

I couldn't ask for a better group of girls to play with. When I think about  great basketball when I get older, I am going to think about this team. I love these girls and coaches to death. Every moment shared with you will be in my heart forever. I will never forget my "cheetah sistas".

I will never forget the moment after the game, when I just cried in Coach Borelli's arms. She has been my support system all year 'round and there isn't another person out there that I admire more than her. I will also never forget hugging Coach Fortune at the end of the game. He just told me that "this is just the beginning for you".

My fairy tale has ended, but my journey has just begun.

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