Page 39 of Full Court Crush
It wasn’t long before the referees sent them back to their changing rooms for their final team talk and player introductions. Amelia could only hope Keira had her head in the game.
Partway into the match, the sound of supporters and the opposing team’s bench cheering for the opposition defence echoed through the sports hall, drowning out Amelia’s thoughts as she raced down the court. Sweat glistened on her brow, and her ponytail whipped behind her with each stride. She was frustrated; the Blizzards were missing easy layups and not boxing out properly, allowing the Raiders all the rebounds. The scoreboard overhead glared back at her — Blizzards 35, Raiders 62. Her heart sank. She knew professional basketball would be hard, but this was awful.
“Keira!” Amelia yelled, darting into position beneath the net. But Keira, her eyes locked on the hoop, either didn’t hear her or chose not to. Instead, she charged forward and tried to shoot over a defender, but the shot bounced off the rim and straight into the hands of the opposition. Amelia spun and sprinted back to defence, swearing under her breath. Her lungs burned with the effort of guarding her opposition player. Keira bolted out of the defensive line, attempting to single-handedly steal the ball back, leaving their defence wide open. The Raiders easily set up a pick and roll, giving them a straight run to the basket; 35-64. Amelia scowled at Keira, then turned to the bench. Making a ‘T’ sign with her hands, she signaled Coach Grant. Coach Grant nodded and spoke to the table. The next time the Raiders scored, the table sounded the horn and pointed in the Blizzards’ direction for a timeout.
The team regrouped on the sidelines, their faces etched with exhaustion and defeat.
“We’re handing this game to them.” Amelia's voice shook as she fought to contain her anger. She looked directly at Keira. “We need to playas a team. No one can turn this game around on their own.” She looked around the huddle before her gaze landed back on Keira. “Let's try and make better opportunities for a shot, by workingas a team.”
“We’re doing our best, cap,” Lucy protested, wiping sweat from her forehead. Amelia glared at her. Lucy wasn’t the problem, and she knew it. Amelia opened her mouth to speak again, but Coach Grant’s hand on her shoulder stopped her.
“Your best isn’t good enough if we’re not playing as a team,” Coach Grant said. Her face was also damp with perspiration from the heat generated on court. “Amelia’s right. You need to start trusting each other.”
Everyone in the circle nodded. They did their team shout and ran back onto the court. Before Keira had a chance to leave, though, Coach Grant got her attention.
“If you don’t start passing the ball, I’ll sub you out,” she said sternly, while Amelia stood by her side. Keira’s glare felt like a slap aimed at her before they both returned to the court.
As they resumed play, Amelia tried to keep her focus on her own game, but her mind kept wandering to Keira. The current unpredictability of her play forced Amelia to play more conservatively than she would like. Keira was so talented. It was maddening to watch her waste it on solo efforts when they should be working together. As their opponent’s lead continued to grow, albeit less rapidly than earlier in the game, Amelia couldn’t shake the feeling they were teetering on the precipice of something. Either they were going to turn a corner and start improving, or continue their free fall and end up as a heaped mess on the floor.
“Morgan!” Amelia called again; her voice desperate as she sprinted past a defender. Keira hesitated for half a second and glanced at the hoop, before finally throwing a bullet pass to Amelia. The speed of the ball stung her hands, but she caught it. The pass was almost too late, though, and she was almost engulfed by the Raiders’ centre. With a surge of determination, she launched herself towards the basket and scored. Their supporters, who’d had little to celebrate thus far, cheered in appreciation. Watching the other team inbound as she darted backwards, she couldn’t help but wonder if the pass had needed to be that hard. As they regrouped in defence, she resisted the urge to point out how working together had earned them a basket.
“Nice shot, Preston,” Keira muttered as the opposing team arrived at their end of the court.
“Nice pass, Morgan.” She glanced at Keira, who somehow looked like an angry wild animal and a wounded puppy at the same time. Amelia sent her a wink to try to lighten her mood, before focusing on the opposition player in front of her.
The final minutes of the game ticked away, and while they played marginally better, it wasn’t enough to close the gap. When the buzzer signalled the end of the match, a pang of disappointment invaded Amelia’s chest. They had lost, again. Something had to change for the team to truly succeed, but she had no idea how to help them gel. They’d not been so disjointed in previous seasons, but that had been a lower standard of play, with less pressure. Then again, they hadn’t had this problem in their earlier games, either. She looked at Keira, who was crouched down on her tiptoes, head hung low, breathing heavily. Her anger subsided. The woman looked broken.
The players regrouped by the team bench, faces downcast. Not even Lucy had anything to say.
“Alright, everyone.” Coach Grant’s voice was firm, but not unkind. “We’ll discuss what went wrong and how we can improve before training next week; there’s no point hashing it all out now. Go and get changed.”
The players conducted the usual post-game cheers for the other team and themselves before they collected their things and tidied up the detritus that inevitably appeared on game days, such as empty sports drink bottles, sweet wrappers, and discarded sports tape. The disappointed home crowd had all but filed out by the time they were done.
Keira hadn’t moved from the bench. She sat leaning forward, elbows on her knees, head in her hands. Coach Grant started to approach her, but Amelia waved her off. Coach Grant raised an eyebrow, non-verbally asking if she was sure. Amelia nodded.
She approached Keira slowly, wondering whether the wild animal or wounded puppy was in play here. She nudged her foot with her own.
“Hey.” Amelia sat down. Keira didn’t respond. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing, I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine.”
“We just had our assess handed to us.” Keira’s voice was filled with exasperation as she finally sat up.
Various staff members were clearing away the temporary nets and stands erected for the game. The scaffold for the television broadcast was already halfway down, and the film crew was rolling large black boxes with camera and sound equipment in them out through the double doors. Amelia sighed.
“There was something wrong before you even stepped foot on court. Is it your dad? Is everything okay with him?”
Keira’s face instantly darkened. Amelia wanted to reach out and touch her, but she was worried she might get her hand bitten off.
“The doctor called and asked him to make an appointment. It’s probably nothing.”
“But you’re worried?”
“Of course, I’m worried. He’s my dad!” Keira snapped. “And if I hadn’t been so distracted lately…” she muttered.
“Your dad’s health isn’t your responsibility.”