What a Game!!

I felt well enough to go to school today.  Each class had a test, so I knew it wouldn't be too tiring.  Cam, Meg and Jackie all went to my Mom's for lunch.  Cam stayed to play games while the girls went back to our house to watch a new show on Netflix.  I picked up Cam after school and brought him home to play some more PS4.  Doug had to work late, but said he'd be home by 7:15 to check on him.

Meg, my Dad, Jackie and I all left around 5:15 for Bethany.  Jackie had to meet her Dad at the girls' sectional as he was selling tickets.  Meg, Dad and I had decided once Meg lost on Tuesday night that we would go to Hannah-Marie's game tonight at Fairfield.  Because of Cam and Meg's games we had only been able to see her game against Bethany this season.  We got to Fairfield early as we knew it would be crowded.  That gave us time to get some snacks and find a seat in the Northwood section.  Dad knew a few people in the stands from Nappanee.  That did not surprise either of us.

The game started out much as we expected.  Wawasee played well on defense and hung tough with Tippy Valley, but the number 8 team in the state led through three quarters.  We were impressed with how well HM had defended against their post players.  Both were at least four inches taller than her, but she out rebounded them and drew several fouls on offense.  When Wawasee found themselves down by ten, we weren't sure what to think.  As good as their defense was, Wawasee was struggling to score.  At the start of the fourth quarter the score was 36 to 29.  I turned to Dad and said, "You know if the Warriors could hit a three, this game could turn."  That was exactly what they did and Tippy Valley started to panic.  They turned the ball over several times and missed some key free throws.  With less than 25 seconds left HM had the ball underneath.  She got a good shot up that just missed, leaving the score at 39-38 Vikings.  Several turnovers on both sides and a jump ball found Wawasee with the ball with less than nine seconds left.  A move to the basket brought a layup that rolled around the hoop and fell in.  Wawasee was up by one with 3 seconds left.  Tippy's half court shot wasn't even close.  Everyone in the Wawasee section as well as most in the Northwood area came to their feet.  We were so happy for Hannah-Marie.  It was a huge victory and she played fantastically.

On the way home Meg and I remarked about how glad that we were that we went to the game.  HM called to see if she could take pictures with us, but we were already in Syracuse.  I had promised Cam that we would go to the Italian restaurant that he and Meg really like in Warsaw.  Plus the Northwood fans wanted our seats, so we had to leave as soon as possible.  We filled Doug and Cam in on the game during dinner.  We heard from both HM and Robyn as we sent them congratulatory texts.  My Mom always has said that everything happens for a reason.  Maybe Meg's team lost so we could be in the stands to cheer on Hannah-Marie tonight.  It almost made up for the disappointment of Tuesday night.