The first quarter had been a blur, with the Queens struggling to find their rhythm. The Charlotte High School team seemed to be one step ahead at every turn, capitalizing on every mistake and forcing turnovers left and right. The Queens had burned 4 timeouts in the first quarter, with 3 remaining for the rest of the game. As the buzzer sounded, the Queens found themselves trailing by a staggering 16 points
"What's going on out there, guys?" Mrs. Lawal demanded as the 5 frustrated girls sat, their heads bend, facing the ground. "We are better than this. We need to get our heads in the game and start playing like we mean it"
"Our passes are not connecting" Oluchi said "Nothing is working out there. They seem to be everywhere"
"Well, we can't score if our passes don't connect" Mrs. Lawal said "plus our defense is weak. To win, we need to score more than them….. Hmmmm"
"We expected the game to be difficult but this? This is something else. We've scored only scored 5 points so far" Tosin lamented, her gaze locked on the court
"Tosin, do you think we can win?" Mrs. Lawal asked
"We will," Tosin replied
"Interesting," Mrs. Lawal said, smiling "Listen up guys, we are down by 16 points and whether or not we win this depends on you. But first thing first, you have 3 fouls already, you are out Shalom,"
"Okay" Shalom said in a low tone and a heavy heart, gritting her teeth in frustration
"Hey" Mrs. Lawal said, pointing at a girl standing next to Tosin "you are in"
"Right!" she said, wearing a serious look on her face and pulling off her tracksuit jacket and pair of trousers, wearing the number 6 jersey
"We are counting on you out there, Tolu," Tosin said
"Right!" Tolu replied
The girls made their way to the court for the second quarter
"Mercy, don't be too far from me," said Tolu
"Why? Do you have a plan?" Mercy asked, curiosity piqued
"Well, just a hint," Tolu said, a small smile playing at her lips
"Okay," Mercy said
The second quarter began with the Queens' ball. Eno threw a short pass to Oluchi as the 2 girls ran up the court
"Let's take it easy, shall we?" Oluchi said, bouncing the ball as she moved up the court. Like the first quarter, Oluchi found it difficult to penetrate or find open shots
"Coach, why did you choose Tolu?" Tosin asked suddenly
"Hm…. Tosin," Mrs. Lawal called
"Ma?" Tosin replied
"Do you remember the game against Rose Newton High School?" Mrs. Lawal asked
"Yes ma," Tosin replied
"From that game, we learned that our strength is fast paced basketball, right?" Mrs. Lawal asked
"Yes ma," Tosin answered
"That's why I chose Tolu," Mrs. Lawal said, "Everyone has his/her style of play and for Tolu, her style perfectly fits into this team. Her style makes our style better. You'll see soon enough,"
12 seconds before the shot clock violation, Oluchi still bouncing the ball without a clue as to how to deal with Esther's defense. Suddenly, she saw Tolu standing behind Esther, setting up a screen for her. Oluchi used the screen to drive past Esther, bursting into the open space behind Esther with a burst of speed. Esther is caught off guard by the quick move. Loveth, Charlotte's Center, who was marking Eno tightly, ran to help, leaving Eno open. Oluchi passed to Eno as soon as she saw Loveth coming to stop her; Eno then attacked the hoop with all her strength as if she was aiming to break the hoop, adding 2 points to the Queens' score
Only thinking of getting their lead back, the Charlottes immediately restarted the game as Loveth passed the ball to Esther. Tolu swiftly intercepted the pass. She then passed it to Mercy who launched a jump shot from the 3-pt area. The ball spun straight, forming an arc in the air and falling into the hoop, reducing the gap further by another 3 points
"Amazing," Tosin said in a low tone
"Sleight basketball style. That's Tolu's technique," Mrs. Lawal said, her eyes locked on the court. "It can only work if the user decides to abandon personal glory. To put it simply, the player has to sacrifice himself for the team. The player has to abandon scoring and stick to passing. With this style, the user moves quickly, quietly and cleverly to deceive the opponents, making it easy to steal the ball. However, on the offense, the player has to stick to passing the ball around"
"That's why she always passes the ball, huh?" Tosin said
"Another steal! Tolu is a constant thorn in Charlotte High School's side." Shalom said
"Counter!" Oluchi yelled, grabbing the loose ball and running up the court for a fast break.
"No, you don't!" Esther yelled as she stood her ground trying to stop the approaching Oluchi, not minding anyone else passing by her.
Oluchi immediately launched a jump shot from the 3-pt area
"Hey, that's exactly what I did in the first quarter!" Esther thought
The ball spun straight to the glass of the hoop, bouncing of it, into the air. Mercy rushed towards the hoop, jumped into the air as she caught the ball with her right hand and slammed it in.
"YEEESSSS!" The girls in white with pink stripes roared all over the court
"I'm a very smart girl. Always at the top of my class. After primary school, I bought the Charlie Queens Academy form. I was told it was super hard to get into due to the screening exams but I still got 98 and ended up in JSS1A. I've never had issues with my academics. But I was bored. I wasn't happy. I acted tough, pretending to be fine but I knew all was not well. Soon after resumption, I heard that someone in JSS1B was creating a female basketball team. I hoped it would cure my boredom so I joined. I thought if I didn't like it, I'd quit; but, before I knew it, I started smiling genuinely again. I told my parents about what I had decided to do but they didn't approve. They were against the idea of me playing basketball. 'Focus on your studies,….. make us proud….' were the only things they'd say to me every time I brought it up. Why won't they understand? Basketball has brought me joy. It is my passion. But to them, it's a distraction…. I can't give up, no matter what they say. I have to prove myself that I am good enough….. The court is where I belong. I won't let their doubt define me. I have to do my best for the team and for myself" Tolu thought
Eno blocked Loveth's shot and Mercy grabbed the rebound as the Queens ran up the court for yet another fast break. Mercy passed the ball to what looked like an empty space but the ball somehow took a strange deflection, as if an invisible force had intervened; and it went up into Oluchi's hands who was already in her shooting motion in mid-air for an unusual 3-pt jump shot
"What?! How?!" Esther exclaimed
Oluchi launched the shot. The ball spun straight to the hoop and went through it, reducing the gap to 4 points.
"YEEEEESSSS!!!!" The girls in white with pink stripes roared all over the court
"Nice pass, Tolu. You're a genius" Oluchi said
"So true" Eno said
"Yes" Mayowa said
"You came in and changed the flow of the game in our favour all on your own" Mercy said
"Ever since you came in, the Charlotte High School team hasn't scored a single point" Oluchi said "you're something else, girl"
"Thank you very much, guys" Tolu said with excitement
The Charlotte High School team called a timeout, hoping to regroup and halt the Queens' momentum.
"Nice game out there, Tolu" Mrs. Lawal said "You can rest for the time being"
"Thank you, ma" Tolu said, smiling
"Shalom, you are on" Mrs. Lawal said
"Thank you, ma" Shalom said
"Listen up guys, we may not have conceded so far in the second half, and yes, that's impressive but don't let it get to your head. We are still weak defensively. Don't let your guard down. Like we did in the last 6 minutes, we have to keep scoring more than them. It's the only way we can win. Let's go, guys" Mrs Lawal instructed
Meanwhile at the Charlotte High School team's bench
"What happened out there?" Asked Coach Emeka
"Tolu is the problem" Aminat, the small forward of the Charlotte High School team said "she is invisible. It's as if we are up against 4 players and a ghost"
"Yeah, I won't have believed it if I wasn't here" Amaka, the power forward of the Charlotte High School team said
"She's a genius" said Nike, the shooting guard of the Charlotte High School team
"Listen up, guys," Coach Emeka started "The Queens have cut our lead to just 4 points. They are playing with a lot of heart out there, and we need to match their intensity if we want to come out on top."
The Charlotte High School team's bench exchanged nervous glances, each player wondering if they would be called upon to help turn the tide
Coach Emeka continued "I'm going to make a substitution. Emmanuella, you are in. Aminat you are out"
Emmanuella nodded, determination flashing in her eyes "let's do this, guys," she said. As she stood up to join the huddle, the rest of the Charlotte High School team's bench exchanged words of encouragement, ready to support their teammate in any way they could.
"Esther, please pass me the ball" Emmanuella said
"Sure" Eather said, smiling "As long as you are on top of your game"
"Yeah, it's fine. I'm up against her after all. It's an opportunity to stretch my winning streak" Emmanuella said
"Huh? What do you mean?" Esther said
The second quarter resumed after the timeout with the Charlotte High School team in possession. Loveth sent a pass to Esther as the game resumed. Esther began to analyze the Queens' formation with the only substitution being Shalom.
"Long time no see Emmanuella" said Shalom taking a defensive stance
"Well, well, well. If it isn't my cute little apprentice" Emmanuella said
"You haven't changed a bit. Still looking down on your opponents, I see" Shalom said
"And you haven't changed either, showing that stubborn attitude of yours" said Emmanuella
"Are you ready? Because today is the day that I finally get to beat you" Shalom said
"Hah! That's what you always say. Have you ever beaten me before?" asked Emmanuella
"Well, I really don't want to lose today and I'm really gonna win today" said Shalom
"Oh?" Emmanuella said, smiling
"Emmanuella!" Esther yelled as she passed the ball to Emmanuella
Emmanuella received the pass, dribbled past Shalom easily, ran in and launched a double clutch lay up while avoiding Eno
"I look forward to seeing how you intend to beat me today" Emmanuella said
"Damn it" Shalom said
The Queens moved up the court the court with Oluchi leading the attack. She thought if they miss the next chance, they'd lose the momentum
"Oluchi! Give me the ball!" Shalom called
Oluchi passed the ball to Shalom as she requested. The ball spun into Shalom's hands. Emmanuella however tapped the ball out of Shalom's hands, creating a fast break chance for the Charlotte High School team
"What is wrong with Shalom today?" Mrs. Lawal asked, throwing her whiteboard on the floor in frustration
Emmanuella grabbed the ball, ran to the hoop and jumped into the air launching a wind mill dunk, slamming like she wants to bring the hoop down
The Queens, down by 8 points with only 8 seconds left in the first half. Oluchi bounced the ball, moving up the court. As the clock counted down from 2 seconds, Oluchi launched a 3-pt jump shot from position a bit far from the arc, beating the buzzer in the process, blowing the minds of everyone in the court and reducing the gap once again to 5 points
"YEEEEESSSS!!!!" The girls in white with pink stripes roared all over the court
The court was on fire. Nobody could believe what they had just witnessed. Everyone went crazy after the buzzer beater.
It's halftime, the teams return to their locker rooms to rest, rehydrate and regroup
"Damn it! What is wrong with me today?" Shalom asked in frustration
"Shalom, calm down" Mrs. Lawal said
"Coach is right, you have to calm down" Tosin said
Shalom took a deep breathe. She suddenly seemed calm and focused unlike before
"Coach, let me keep facing Emmanuella…. Alone…please" Shalom pleaded
"Are you sure?" Mrs. Lawal asked
Tosin interrupted "Coach, she's got this. She can do it" she said
"Alright" Mrs. Lawal said, nodding in agreement to what Tosin said "Guys, listen up. In the second half, we will start by attacking through Shalom for the first few minutes of the second half. On defense, we will a 2-3 zone defense. Remember, we are to score moor than them no matter what"
"Right!" the team chorused
As the halftime break came to an end, both teams gathered on the court for one last huddle before the second half commenced.
The Queens, still trailing by 5 points, listened intently as their coach repeated their game plan for the second half one last time before the second half commenced. She afterwards emphasized the importance of staying aggressive on offense and defense, crashing the board for rebounds, and capitalizing on fast break opportunities
"Take care of the counter attacks" Mrs. Lawal urged
"YES!!!" the team chorused
"Guys, let's go finish this. On 3, 2, 1, Charlie Queens!!! Fight!!!" Yelled Tosin
"YEAAAAHHH!!!" The team yelled
Meanwhile the Charlottes' coach reminded his players of their lead urging them to maintain their focus and continue executing their game plan. He stressed the importance of containing Oluchi, who had shown herself to be a dangerous scorer. He also urged Emmanuella to watch out for Shalom as she seemed laxed due to her first half dominating performance against Shalom. "Shalom isn't one to go down easily" he warned
"Yeah yeah, she's good" Emmanuella said, smiling "Not against me, though. She's powerless against me"
The gymnasium filled with electric energy as the players took their positions on the court. The second half was moments away from beginning, and both teams were eager to get back into action
The referee blew the whistling the start of the third quarter. The Charlotte started in possession with Esther moving the ball up the court. She passed the ball to Emmanuella who was tightly marked by Shalom
"Huh?" Emmanuella said. She noticed Shalom's calm expression "Hah! Something's different now, huh?" she said as Shalom stared, smiling at her