Showdown

The stage was set for quite a showdown in the Assumption High School gymnasium tonight.

Our girls hoops team, ranked #2 in the state, hosted Wausau Newman, ranked #1 and the only team to hand us a loss this year -- and that was only by 3 points. At stake was the conference championship. If we beat Wausau, we'd share the conference title with them. If we lost, well, they'd have it all to themselves.

The tension has been building up for this game since that loss waaaay back toward the beginning of the season! This week was like bonus Spirit Week at school, too. Everyone was encouraged to don their Royal Blue and attend tonight's matchup.

And I think they did.

When Carter and I arrived at 6:45 p.m., 45 minutes before tipoff, the gym was already packed. He went off to play in Pep Band and I found my friends who saved me a seat. Thankfully!

We had a pretty sad outing to start with, only scoring 4 points in the first quarter to their 12 and finishing up the first half down 22-13. We were bummed. But the girls rallied big time in the second half and we even took a 2-point lead. On occasion. At the final buzzer, though, we were tied! Overtime, baby!

You didn't even have to cut the tension with a knife. It was so packed and so hot in that gym, it should have melted away. Instead it was more like fuel to a fire. Uff da. This time at the final buzzer, the score was 40-40. Yes, another overtime! Unreal.

Oh I wish I had good news for the final, but we ended up missing some key shots and fell at the final (for real) buzzer, 49-45. So sad.

What a game, though. This is what high school sports are all about. All that school spirit. All that intense interest because these are our kids... or our kids' friends... or our friends' kids! What a great experience to be a part of tonight.

Now we just have to hope we do well enough in playoffs so we face them again. I think third time will be a charm and we can kick their butts! Or just win by a basket. Or even one point. We'd take it!

Whew! Hubby missed a good game. I texted him to keep him in the loop because his plane landed in Madison around the first OT. I'm lucky I beat him home. Now to wind down quickly and get to bed!

Uff da. Seriously.