On Saturday, the team changed its usual minibus for a full-sized school bus because more band musicians were going to perform than usual. And, of course, players are allowed to bring along one person of their choice. This time around, all players picked one person, often their love interest.
Even so, the booster club rented a bus from the parish to bring some VA supporters from Jennings to Hammond for the big game, since the team’s bus was already full. Priority was given to the families of girls’ basketball players, but some boys’ basketball players made the trip, too. And not just Malcolm by virtue of being Cora’s designated guest.
Before both buses leave the town, the people staying in town come out because it’s the first time since the pandemic that VA made it to a state final in a non-academic activity. For a time, it seems like these girls bear the weight of the town on their shoulders.
“We shall show the Rebels that we don’t need to grab players on the international student exchange markets to win!” Heather shouts before boarding the bus.
“Make the most out of your time under the spotlight! It’s not going to last!” Heather’s dad tells his daughter.
“Show them that having brainiacs on hand doesn’t hurt us on the court!” Audrey’s mother tries to encourage her.
“If I may, mom, players who hit the international student exchange markets lean top-heavy academically. If not, they’re usually top-tier basketball talent by their home country’s standards!”
Aija is both, but is Libuse also a straight-A student on top of being the star player on that Rebels squad? Pablo ruminates while he boards the bus to be next to Audrey.
“Venomous! Agendas!” the crowd hollers in the players’ direction as they board the bus under the cheers of the crowd.
For some of the VA fans assembled in the school’s parking lot, it’s then they realize what their favorites of the day are really like off the court. Especially the juniors and seniors on the front court, who feel so much taller and bigger than everyone else. Heather, at 6’4, 200 lbs, Audrey at 6’2, 180 lbs, Cora at 6’1, 175 lbs. The three tallest girls at VA. And, of course, the youngest players are the shortest as well.
When they arrive in Hammond, two hours later, the VAs try to find a room where they can watch videos within the UC, since they arrived a little early. Once they finally find a suitable conference room inside the arena, they start watching the video in earnest.
“Ladies, it might not be representative of Rebel basketball, but this is the best footage I could find of Libuse, the main player that could worry us tonight!” Kent then proceeds to show footage from the Czechia-Latvia game at U-sixteen Women’s EuroBasket, played in some city in Serbia. “Pay attention to number thirty-one in red”
“Either team would demolish us! Heather might be able to play on their level, but beyond her…” Tamara seems to panic upon watching the footage.
“How would either Czechia or Latvia bear any resemblance in playstyle to Pearl River?” Vanessa asks, puzzled by the choice of footage.
“Not that Libuse appeared out of place, but why show us this footage?” Carrie asks the coach, a little confused.
Damn it! Aija played in that game, and against Libuse! Why is it that my nightmares tend to turn out to be at least partially true later? Audrey recognizes Aija, wearing a white Latvija jersey, in the video.
Meanwhile, the Rebels are holding their own pre-game in their own bus. They seem to psych themselves up over VA’s academic record. About their sports budgets.
“Our opponents might be Ivy-bound, but we won’t let this gang of underfunded upstarts who clearly put their money into nerdy things steal our thunder!” the Rebels’ captain, a power forward, harangues the players.
“We shall tear these Venomous Agendas apart, page by page!” the Rebels’ big hollers.
“Excuse me, but who on the opposing team is even Ivy-bound?” Libuse asks, in a rather strong Czech accent.
“Their best two players, Heather and Audrey, both received offers from Ivy League colleges!” the Rebels’ coach answers Libuse.
“What nerdy things do our opponents spend their money on?” the Rebels’ starting SG asks.
“I know they spend it on quiz bowl since, apparently, two of their starters tonight play it!” the Rebels’ captain retorts.
And, when the Division II Select title game ends, it’s time for both VAs and Rebels to come out onto the court. With the home announcer introducing the teams as their respective bands and cheerleaders get in position:
“The visiting team, from St. Tammany Parish, the five seed, the Pearl River Rebels!” The home announcer then lists all the Rebel players by name, jersey number and grade, before subjecting the VA players to the same treatment. “And the home team, from Jefferson Davis Parish, the one seed, the Venomous Agendas!”
Both teams enter the court with the cheers of their respective on-site supporters. And, of course, the VA fans in the stands being seated on one side of the arena, in the front rows, and the Rebel supporters on the other side. Yet even with the makeup of the supporters, the attendance was still lower than at either team’s quarterfinal games against Leesville and Eunice respectively. And college scouts in higher seats.
A little underwhelming, but both bigs are at center court for the game’s initial tip-off.
However, this time around, Heather loses the tip-off to the Rebels, with their very own big dribbling and attempting a three-pointer. The ball bounces off the hoop, Cora and Libuse race towards the ball near the paint… Libuse beat Cora to the ball by a split-second.
Which then causes Libuse to try using their own big to screen for her as she closes in on the paint. Laying up, with Heather finding herself underneath the hoop, Libuse scores the Rebels’ first two points.
But when Heather’s time in the paint ends, Audrey catches the ball, dribbles past the center, at which point, lacking space to shoot from the left, she passes the ball to Carrie on the opposite side of the court.
Cora, taking advantage of the chaos on the left-hand side of the court, swerves through the opposing players and gets ready to receive the ball from Carrie. Yet, once the ball is in Cora’s hands, Libuse forces her to step out of the paint.
Not wanting the ball to get stolen, Cora moves sideways once out of the paint, and passes it to Heather, who wastes no time using the mismatch between Libuse and herself to shoot the ball.
Woohoo! VA now has two points on the board! Pablo muses while the opponent has the ball in hand. Bottom line, the VAs must prevent Libuse from getting to the ball!
“This game feels far too much like Livonia last year…” Pablo comments to Malcolm.
“Surely you’re saying that because of how VA defense seemed to focus on Libuse, aren’t you? The difference is that Pearl River has…” Malcolm then sees the Rebels’ PF score.
“More depth, yes...”
Vanessa grabs the ball, dribbles... and makes an attempt to pass the ball that hits Hugh, and then the whistle is blown since the ball went out of bounds.
Ouch! That was a big mistake! Kent muses while Vanessa is benched and Tamara is brought into play, seeing that this out-of-bounds led to the opponent passing a free ball to Libuse. Who then, feeling pressured by Heather, makes a three-pointer attempt that bounces off the backboard.
Don’t fret: balls going out of bounds are just a normal thing! And we got lucky that not even Libuse could score from the three all the time, a powerless Vanessa muses while the play is happening as VA is trailing by two points.
Tamara grabs the ball, then passes the ball to Carrie, whom she knows is a much better dribbler than she is. However, with Carrie feeling her shooting options are impracticable, even with side movement, Carrie throws the ball in Audrey’s direction.
Which causes Libuse and Audrey to dash for the ball. Audrey wins by a split-second, then dribbles sideways. Feeling like time is running out to shoot, she jumps and makes the shot from the three.
“Ballista! Ballista!” Pablo shouts in Audrey’s direction.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
“Woohoo! The Venomous Agendas are now in the lead!” Finn exclaims when the ball enters the hoop, and VA is now in the lead, 5-4.
“Venomous! Agendas!” Malcolm shouts as the Rebels get screened on their way to the rim.
That game remains tight, as no team seems to gain a definite advantage over the other. Fouls, points, you name it. As the first quarter ends, both teams are tied.
Damn... Audrey and Heather both remind me of players I played against at U16 EuroBasket! Then again, you must have talent to make a team playing at EuroBasket, and lots of it, Libuse reflects on her experience of playing against VA. I don’t think I will regret having been loaned to Pearl River, regardless of the game’s outcome.
“If we provoke the opponent into fouling, and maybe even make them resort to hack-a-player...” Carrie suggests a course of action for the team.
“It’s too early in the game for a team to go around intentionally hacking players! This means we must try to make it look like we aren’t deliberately doing that!” Audrey adds.
“And don’t forget about what constitutes flopping! It might be difficult for the refs to draw the line though, but we mustn’t overdo it!” Vanessa comments on fouling.
“It’s risky, but if the opportunity presents itself to leave some opening to steal the ball, our best bet to draw fouls is when they attempt to do so!” Heather suggests a way for them to draw fouls.
Damn it! That’s what Charlotte was good at: drawing fouls! In that Livonia game she drew the most fouls… Audrey gets flashbacks of their last run at the state tournament. I try to remember who drew the most fouls this season.
“If there’s one area of the game where we regressed, it’s our ability to draw fouls. Charlotte was very one-dimensional, but I wonder who can draw fouls like she did… Cora? Audrey? Heather?” Tamara asks around. “They are the ones who close in on the hoop!”
“We stand a better chance to draw fouls if we drive hard to the hoop, and decelerate as soon as we reach the paint!” Cora comments.
“Got it, either leave an opening for the opponent to attempt stealing the ball or decelerate as soon as we reach the paint” Carrie nods, while wondering when she would be able to leave an opening to get the ball stolen, since she seems a little reluctant to drive to the paint.
However, the VAs don’t seem to draw as many fouls as they would have liked in the second quarter, and, as such, don’t get that many free throws. But neither did the Rebels. With the lead being traded away often by both sides, they knew that, sometimes, in the heat of action, fouling was inevitable.
Yet, they also knew that fouling too much would be counterproductive. Especially not when a state championship was at stake, and the game is tight. As the half-time siren blares over the UC:
“This is half-time, and the Venomous Agendas are in the lead, thirty-three to thirty-two! This is shaping up to be an exciting second half!” the home announcer yells into the arena’s PA system.
As the VAs retreat to the locker room, there is no discussion of fouling or strategy taking place. Heather tries something else to motivate the players. A little tired perhaps to some, but she tries it nonetheless.
“Forget about the scoreboard, ladies. Forget about basketball scholarships. For the non-seniors on this squad, please, think of what a state title can do for you when the time comes to apply to college! For those who can’t sniff a scholarship, your personal performance on the court is essentially irrelevant. What would then be relevant to you is how the team performs, as a team. This is going to be your sixteen minutes of fame, sixteen minutes that you will remember long after you graduate, as a highlight of your life!” Heather harangues the players as a special guest arrives.
“On top of that, our town waited twenty years for another shot at basketball glory!” a member of the 2011 squad who last won it all for Jennings continues, wearing the pre-pandemic, wine-red Bulldogs away jersey. “Please don’t squander this opportunity, and end this game, this tournament, with a bang, a slam dunk!”
The players, arrayed in a circle, then put their hands on top of one another. “Venomous! Agendas! Venomous! Agendas!”
For the second half of the game, for some reason, VA decided to rest their starters in much of the third and fourth quarters, but the Rebels played their starters for much longer. Especially Libuse, who couldn’t catch a break.
With 2 minutes left to the game, while the Rebels might be leading by 10 points, VA calls a 30-second timeout right as the Rebels get the ball out of bounds.
“The bad news is, we are trailing by ten points. The good news is that Libuse is in fouling trouble. We make her eat one more foul, and she’s out. And she’s not alone in fouling trouble either! The whole team is, and regardless of which Rebel fouls, we get two free throws!” Kent announces to the team, before turning to Carrie. “Also, Carrie, you’re back into play and you are going to inbound the ball! Cora too!”
Carrie passes the ball to Cora as soon as the 30 seconds allotted to VA ends. Upon receipt of the ball, Cora is on a breakaway, dribbling to the paint.
In an attempt to prevent her from scoring, the Rebels chase her at full speed, with Libuse breathing down the SF’s neck.
As Cora decelerates upon entering the paint, she is laying up, and Libuse hits the SF in the back after the ball makes its way out of Cora’s hands. The impact throws Cora to the floor, also causing the referee to blow the whistle. Right as the ball enters the hoop, making her score two points.
“Debt Ceiling! Make the Rebels incur a cost overrun!” Malcolm yells at her, while the rest of the crowd gasps upon Cora falling to the floor.
While Cora gets back up, with a little back pain, the Rebels then call a 30-second timeout of their own, before Cora gets to shoot the two free throws she’s entitled to.
“We just lost Libuse! For the next two minutes, don’t foul opposing players under any circumstances, understood?” the Rebels’ coach yells at the players.
Is this looking like a NBA game, where the last two minutes can take forever to play out? I hope not... Pablo starts being irritated as Cora shoots the first free throw. Which goes in.
And, of course, the second free throw, while a little wobblier than the first one, spirals into the hoop and the Rebels gain possession of the ball afterwards. Cora thus scored four points.
By this point, the VAs’ sense of urgency is such that they’re speeding up on the court. Sure, the opposing shooting guard still attempts to get a three-pointer off, but Heather blocks it fairly close to the three-point line.
With the ball now in Heather’s possession, she dribbles down to the paint, demonstrating surprising speed and agility for someone her size. However, she had three seconds to shoot before leaving the paint. Taking a jump shot, she could throw the ball at point-blank. Which goes in the hoop.
“Woohoo! Down to four points! We can do it!” Finn exclaims while the scoreboard shows VA trailing, 65-61.
“Can they complete that rally?” a parent of a VA second-string player asks from behind him, with less than a minute to go.
Here it seems like a failed three-pointer by the Rebels’ second-string power forward hits the backboard and also hits Tyler on the way out of bounds. Which, once again, causes the VAs to gain possession of the ball.
Ouch! That hurts! During the regular season, I didn’t get hit by stray balls... Tyler has gotten headaches from the stray, out-of-bounds ball hitting his head.
Audrey is the designated inbounder on this play, and must inbound the ball from the baseline. I can’t make mistakes, especially not now! Her sweating goes up and she thinks Carrie is her best option as the clock ticks on her.
Yes! Carrie dribbles down the court, dashing as the opponents then double-team her once the ball is in the offensive zone. Feeling the pressure from the Rebels’ defense, she takes a step back and goes for the three. Which bounces off the hoop and Heather takes the rebound at the extended free throw line. However, the opponents force her into passing the ball rather than to shoot it. Vanessa takes the pass, dribbles to the rim, takes a jump shot...
Yes! Way to redeem myself from this stupid out-of-bounds pass early in the game! Vanessa thinks briefly, while the Rebels’ second-string big dribbles, but gets the ball stolen by Audrey as soon as the ball crosses the half-court line.
After this steal, made with only a few seconds left to the game, she dashes for the three-point line. Once close enough to the 3-point line, she feels the clock ticking on her. Oh my God! Everything me and my teammates have worked so hard all season for is in my hands! Audrey’s hands start shaking while in a lateral movement along the 3-point line.
“Ballista! Fire! Fire!” Pablo shouts in Audrey’s direction.
Pressed for time, as well as by the Rebels, Audrey ends up shooting what amounts to a bank shot. Yet, she knows it’s not the best way to shoot a three-pointer. However, the ball hits the backboard when the buzzer rings, signaling the end of the game, but everyone is on the edge of their seats. Come on, ball! Audrey starts praying after the buzzer rings. And Pablo. And Malcolm, and so on.
Somehow, after hitting the backboard, the ball spirals into the hoop for about two seconds before falling into it. The crowd gasps upon seeing what looked like a Pearl River win turn into a VA one.
“An eleven-point rally in the last two minutes propelled the Venomous Agendas to their first state title in twenty years! And the 2031 LHSAA Division II Non-Select state champions, the Venomous Agendas, winning sixty-six to sixty-five!” the home announcer shouts.
“Now that’s my Ballista! Once again, she scored the point when VA needed it most!” Pablo exclaims.
The VA players, along with Kent, then come together at center court to pose for a group photo as the trophy is being handed to them, while the Rebels saw their shot at winning State vanish with a stupid buzzer-beater of a three-pointer. And the Rebels vacate the court, crying.
These Venomous Agendas! They played like these… Lithuanian feny tonight! Libuse keeps to herself, not wanting to raise too many questions among her fellow Rebels. Who are all hunched over this atrociously Pyrrhic loss. However, the Czechia I played on was blown out against Latvia in the round-robin, Lithuania in the knockout stage; everyone makes it to the knockout stage at EuroBasket, though.
However, they know that winning this championship was a team-wide effort. And yet, they knew they couldn’t get close to them until they get out of the locker room.
“Way to go, everyone! You all gave your all today, and it would be hard to pick a MVP” the coach deadpans his players. “Please remember, however, that glory borne out of high school sports is fleeting. So, especially for non-seniors, you must keep studying!”
“It’s... unreal! Never would I have imagined that VA would ever win anything post-pandemic that isn’t academic!” an ecstatic 2011 team member tells the players.
“Speaking of academic stuff, Cora, I think our bodies need some well-deserved rest and we focus on quiz bowl until the HSNCT ends!” Audrey tells Cora before showering.
After the players shower, they are met outside the locker room by whomever made the trip to Hammond. Pablo then meets with Audrey before they return home.
“Ballista, that was... clutch. Until now, the only people who called you Ballista were VA fans, quiz bowl or basketball” Pablo is about to kiss Audrey. “You’re the most clutch person I know, basketball or quiz bowl!”
“Thank you” Audrey takes Pablo away from the hallway and then hugs Pablo.
“Now, thanks to that three-pointer of a buzzer-beater, girls’ basketball fans will know who Ballista is”
How sweet of him! Shooting is my greatest asset in basketball, from the paint as well as from three; that’s why I’m even called Ballista to begin with, Audrey reflects while she is kissing him, not suspecting that LHSAA is uploading the clip of the buzzer-beater. However, there was no kissing at center court…