The Season Ending (This was memorable)

Well, I invested a lot of time and effort (and lost wages) into the girls basketball team at Unity. Finally, it all boiled down to one game - a 'championship match' - between our school and the only other team in our two-team league - Heritage. So far, we had not one a single game. So I decided (with only two practices left) to change our offence to 'Overload' - an offence where players set up in the offensive end with more players on one side of the court than the other (the idea being - to overload the opponents' defence by having a lot of players on the same side as the ball.
Game day came around last night and I was nervous. (This being the first basketball team I'd ever coached and they had not won a single game yet).
We started off on a promising note. The other team fouled one of our players and we scored the first basket on a free throw. (1-0 for Unity).
Then it went downhill. After a series of unanswered baskets, Heritage took a handsome lead and the score soon became 15-1 for Heritage. Ouch. ANY time that you are down by 14 points in a junior girls basketball game -- you've pretty much written off the game. That's a fact.
Being the coach. I felt clueless. I'd thrown my players everything I could think of. All my advice, all my instructions, all my encouragement. Nothing seemed to be working.
But I said we'd stick with our offence and we'd just play harder defence.
Very slowly, things started to turn around. But it was already the second half, and when you're down by double-digits, its a long climb back up.
But things did turn around and we had scored a three pointer (miraculously). And then we scored from the top of the key. And suddenly we had 6 points. And then we got a rebound and put that in. (8 points now!).
Something happened. And I don't know what it was. And it happened incredibly slowly. But by the time the fourth quarter came around, the score was somewhere around 22-18 and my girls were in it to win it.
We had momentum and the other team was panicking. Accidentally, to start the fourth quarter, I had sent all three of my post players were on the court (a miscommunication), and I had only two guards (Normally you have three guards and two post players...). I wasn't paying enough attention to who I had sent onto the court.
Fortunately, we scored another basket and Heritage started panicking. Their girls started playing as individuals and my team had finally connected as a team (FINALLY!). Heritage called a time out. The ref told me I still had all five of my time-outs remaining (that I even had five timeouts was something I had completely overlooked).
I left all my post players on the court and told them to simply set up a triangle under the nets on either end and just... get... the... rebound! I told my guards to "just keep passing the ball to the post players, and don't forget to drive to the net yourself on occasion."
Then one of my post players made her fourth foul (any more and she'd be out of the game!). I let her stay in.
There were only a few minutes left in the game (about two minutes actually). We were still down by a basket. Somewhere in there I had called my first timeout to tell my girls, actually I don't remember what I told them, but it was probably good. That's just the kindof coach I am - naturally always saying the right thing, except when its wrong. In this case it was probably right.
The girls went back out onto the court (under two minutes were left).
Somehow we scored a basket.
There were 30 seconds left. The score was tied at 25-25. My girls were going nuts on the bench. I was trying to figure out what happens in the event of a tie game in a championship match?
The problem was that after we scored a basket, Heritage had possession of the ball.
Heritage started up the court with the ball. My girls were setting up on defence.
Then it was something straight out of a movie -- the kind where one of my guards stole the ball in our own end. There were ten seconds left. She started sprint-dribbling down the court. Two Heritage girls were trying to keep up. My guard kept sprinting -- kept dribbling. People were counting down the clock -- 6--- 5 --- 4.
My guard tried to make a lay-up. The ball bounced around.... (Yes, just like it does in the movies...)
Time itself had come to a halt.
The ball fell through the hoop!
My bench went crazy! (like only girls can...) My assistant coach (Ms. Bootsma) was crying. I was (a little) choked up.
I think there was still 3 seconds left on the clock, but I don't think the ref bothered anymore because my bench had completely emptied onto the court.
My girls had finally won a game! And it just happened to be the 'championship' title match of the season!
Unity gets to put their name on the plaque for the second season in a row.
And I've learned a TON about coaching basketball. I hope I get to do it again next year!