Biddy C

Does anybody remember when our first practice was? It was October 4, 2007. Five months ago to the day. That's a long time, but it seemed to fly by. You know the saying... "Time flies when you're having fun."

What can I say about tonight's game that I didn't say already? I think you all saw the result of all your hard work and practice. Your coaches saw it, and your parents saw it. And we are all so proud of each and everyone of you.

All the pieces of the puzzle we've been building this year come together tonight... offense, defense, rebounding. We had season highs in points, assists, steals and rebounds. 

Ummm, yeah... that'll work. 

Oh those passes! I've told you many times this season that, to me, there's nothing more beautiful in the game of basketball than a nice pass. It lifts everybody up. You had soooooooo many nice passes tonight, there was a lot of lifting going on. If the silly ball would've fallen through the hoop on a lot of those shots like it should've, we might have scored 50 points!

And now for one final time this season, I present to you...(drum roll)...the stats:

To Austen, Lindsay and Alex: You all played great tonight. You each had shots that coulda-shoulda-woulda fallen, rebounds and some nice passes.

We are a team. We pick each other up when we're down, and, as we saw tonight, we push each other higher and higher when we're up.   

Thank you all for a wonderful season. I had a ball, but more importantly, I'm pretty sure you did, too. The true measure of the success of our season will be when I see all of you signed up for basketball next year. Look for opportunities to keep playing over the summer (yes, you can actually play basketball when it's warm out!) and keep doing those ball-handling drills. :-) (I snuck in one last coachism)

__________

If this ends up being our last game of the season, Eagles, what a way to finish!

There have been games when, even though we've lost, I thought you played your best game of the season. Tonight, you put it all together, played as well as you've played all year, and, this time, came out on top. It was amazing to watch, and must have been really fun to play.

You played well in every phase of the game, and everybody contributed to the win.

When we played this team last time, #25 scored 18 points. I'd say she is the single best player we've faced all year because she's tall, fast, smart, and can dribble, shoot and pass very well. We were ready for her this time, though, thanks to some awesome defense by Emma and Sarah, and everyone who was there when they needed help. Tonight, she scored 9 points. Sure, some of her teammates stepped up and scored, but we made them change the way they're used to playing by putting some good old-fashioned hard-nosed defense on them.

On offense, we just saw more of what we've been seeing the past few games -- steals turning into fast breaks and some beautiful passing leading to easy shots. The difference tonight was that a lot of those shots were falling for us.

Enough coach's babble...how 'bout them stats? 

-------------   

Let's keep our fingers crossed that we get to play our last game.... you guys are playing too well to stop now.

__________   

WOW! My heart hasn't stopped pounding!

That was, by far, the most exciting game of the season. Think of how close that last shot came to falling in, instead of out. It was a matter of a fraction of an inch, and I know you guys all know your fractions.

So, the question is: Are we going to let a fraction of an inch change the way we feel about ourselves? No way.

Sure, it would've been great if that shot had fallen in the hoop. But just because it didn't doesn't mean that you guys didn't show a lot of guts tonight. I'm sure you felt more pressure tonight than most of you have ever felt in any game you've played. And you responded to the pressure with grace and poise. What more could anybody ask? 

Not only that, but you showed such great sportsmanship. This game meant more to the E. Greenbush girls that you can imagine. And maybe they played just a little bit harder through most of the game because of it. They deserved to win, and they deserved our respect, and you gave it to them.

I couldn't be more proud of you.

Here are the stats:

Rebound leader: Grace - 3 

-------------   

Hopefully we'll get to play this team again. Maybe next time we'll want it just a little more than they do.

__________  

A basketball season is a lot like life. You work hard and always try to do your best. You make good friends who you support and who pick you up when you're down. You experience joy and disappointment. You make mistakes, but if you learn from them, and improve, you are a winner. 

Well, Eagles, you are all winners. 

There's not enough space on this website for me to list all the positive things we saw last night. But, unlike what I usually do, I'm going to single a few girls out. That doesn't mean I didn't notice how well you other girls played.

• First of all, Katie. You took a nasty blow to the nose and everybody knows how much that hurts. That team was tough and aggressive and they weren't afraid to mix it up.  No one would've blamed you if you had decided to sit and recover for the rest of the game. But, you didn't. You kept playing, and played some of the best basketball you've played all season afterward. That showed a lot of heart.

• Emma, you've been a leader for us all season. Last night I had you playing in the 5 spot a lot because we needed you there. You came through big time. Even though it doesn't show up in the stats, you made several of the best passes you've made all year and played incredible defense. That's leadership.

• Rachel, nobody on our team has improved more than you have this season and it's so cool to see some of your shots going in as a reward.

• And finally, Jordan... I sure am glad you came home early from your ski trip for this game! I bet you are, too. You made our first 3-point play of the season (a basket plus a foul shot.) You made many steals. You played with confidence, which is so great to see.

Austen, Lindsay, Kate, Sarah, Lily and Grace, you guys all played fantastic, too.

Hoosic Valley deserved to win this game. They are a very good team that has improved a LOT since we beat them early in the season. But, as I said, you guys were winners last night, too.

On to the stats!

Rebound leader: Sarah - 5 

-------------   

We're down to the last few games of the season, girls. Let's build on this game and finish strong!

__________