“Time – out” said Coach Manning. We were ahead by two points as we walked off the court breathing heavily with sweat rolling down our backs. “Defense, defense, defense that is all we need to win this game” said Coach Manning “there is 56.5 seconds left and we are ahead, all we need to do is play defense and this championship will be ours.” “Yeah” we all screamed in unison as we ran back onto the court. We were all pretty nervous about what the outcome of this game would be. We all knew that we wanted this championship so bad, but we were a little intimidated because we had lost every time we played this team in the regular season.

The Whistle was blown and the end of the game was underway. I glanced up at the clock and saw the seconds ticking away. The only thing that was on my mind was getting the ball from the other team and winning. So as soon as it was a live ball we all swarmed the girl with the ball. Melissa, one of my teammates was playing incredible defense and actually stole the ball from the girl. She dribbled down the court and stopped at about the free – throw line. We all yelled to her to hold the ball and wait for the clock to run out, but she ignored us all and threw the ball towards the rim.

We were all very nervous because she wasn’t the best shooter and we still had about 20 seconds left, which was enough time for the other team to get another shot off. The ball seemed to going towards the rim in slow motion and everybody was silent. When the ball finally got to the rim it circled around the top about two times. I had never been this anxious in my entire life. The ball dropped into the net. The crowd went wild and our whole team was on their feet jumping up and down and screaming.

After we finally settled down we realized that the game wasn’t over yet. There was still about 17 seconds left on the clock. But we knew that we had this victory in the bag because there was no way that they could come back because they were four points behind. Once they got to their side of the court they launched up a three AIRBALL!!!!! When we got the ball with about five seconds we just held the ball until the clock ran out. BEEEEEEEEEP!!! The game was officially over. We ran to the bench where the rest of the team was. We all congratulated Melissa on the game winning shot. All of our friends and family ran out onto the court to congratulate us on the win. We were the champions! We were the best girls’ basketball team in all of Marietta! We all got trophies and plaques.

After we left the gym we went to the Marietta Pizza Company to celebrate. Between bites we talked about our favorite game moments. And we all agreed that Melissa’s game winning shot was the best part. Without a doubt this has to be the most exciting victory of my life. I will never forget the day that I became a champion.