Youth Basketball: The Last Second Shot

If competition makes a player better and stronger, then my daughter CC improved yesterday. 


Game 162

My daughter's school basketball team made it to the final four with a decisive win on Friday night. Yesterday, they competed against an undefeated team for the right to go to the CYO City Championship finals. My daughter, CC, and her teammates played their hearts out in a game dominated by defense. 


CC's team fell behind 8 to 2. Scoring was difficult for both teams, but CC's team battled back. CC hit a nice 15 foot baseline jump shot over a defender to make it 8-5 late in the game (Pictured). 


She also made a key play with less than a minute left. The star of the other team was stole a pass and broke for the basket on a fastbreak. A fastbreak that would have put the game out of reach. CC ran full speed to foul the girl. It was an aggressive foul and both girls went to the ground hard. (The girl she fouled is her AAU teammate.) Luckily, it was not a shooting foul and our team stole the resulting inbounds pass. 


The two teams traded important possessions that could have decided the game, but no shots found the bottom of the net. With less than 10 seconds left, CC's best friend took the ball into the lane and was fouled. Unfortunately, she missed the first shot of a 1 and 1 that would have tied the game at 8-8 with 3 seconds left. CC's team would get another chance to win as the rebound off of the missed free throw went out off of the other team. 


A play was devised to get CC the final shot.  CC got free on the baseline. She received the pass. The defender popped out to defend the shot.  With .5 seconds left, CC was able to get the shot off, but it was blocked as the defender hammered CC. (The girl who fouled her was another of her AAU teammates.) Both girls went to the ground tangled up.  Unbelievably, the refs did not call a foul and our team lost 8-7. 


Our coach questioned the ref after the game. He asked if the time expired before the shot and foul. The ref said no. He then asked the ref why he did not call a foul. The ref told our coach that the defender went straight up. Oh well.


After the game, I wondered that if the foul had been called if CC would have been nervous. She told me,  "no way Dad and I would have made the shots."


The Main Point 


Games like this build character.