Finale, finally

Excitement, disappointment, enthusiasm, ennui. The full range of emotions came into play on the final weekend of Upward basketball. Both of our teams entered today's showdown with nothing more than personal pride on the line. The Lady Spartans were seeking an undefeated season, and the Pacers were trying to finish with a winning record. At first, it seemed that Rachel's coach was resting his stars for the finale when Rachel began the game on the bench. She was just itching to get in the game, because she had the same incentive from Mom that she had last week. Alas, the result was also the same as last week. Poor Rachel was 0-5 from the floor and failed to earn her Skittles. She did pull down a season high 4 rebounds, and she adeptly dribbled the ball, which shows the huge improvements she has made since the season began. As a team, the Lady Spartans continued the impressive display the fans have come to expect. They held a 20 point lead at the half over the Lady Vols and cruised to an easy 44-32 victory. We really spread the wealth around on the offensive end today. Aishwarya contributed 4 points, and didn't even commit a double dribble violation, which is quite a significant event this season. The crowd pleaser was adorable Cara. She put up (what I suspect was a season, and possibly career high) 6 points. After each basket she jumped up at least 3 times with pure joy exuding from her face. Her infectious excitement brought a smile to whoever saw her, regardless of team allegiance. It was a fun, exciting way to finish off the season. Congratulations to the Lady Spartans for finishing 7-0-1 for an undefeated record.
Drew's Pacers had a little more incentive to play well today since they were shooting for a winning season. Thanks to last week's tie, they were .500 going in, so this game was the difference between a winning season or a losing one. They jumped out to a quick lead due to defensive brilliance and held the Bulls to a single point in the first 12 minutes. The Bulls returned the favor in the last period of the first half holding us scoreless while they put in 8 unanswered points to trail by only 3 at the half. That drought was undoubtedly caused by Drew spending the period on the bench. He continued to keep the bench warm in the second half, and for some reason he sat out for 3 consecutive periods. He reentered the contest for the final period of the season as part of what I felt was our best combination of five players. I suppose sitting an extra period was worth it to have that configuration on the floor to finish up. Drew didn't quite match Rachel's output for the day, as he only attempted 3 shots from the floor, missing them all, and only grabbed 2 boards. Of course, there is much more to offense than simply scoring points, and his presence obviously helped his teammates hang on for the decisive 39-22 victory. They ended the season with a bizarre streak intact. They were winless when wearing yellow jerseys, and undefeated while wearing the purple jerseys. Congratulations to the Pacers for the 4-3-1 season.
This was a fun season of basketball, and I am surprisingly disappointed to see it end. Rachel showed some real improvement in her game over the course of 8 weeks, and best of all, she had fun. Drew impressed me with his ability, showing a good head for the game, and a surprising level of aggressiveness when necessary. He also showed some improvement, and definitely had fun. He told me he didn't want his season to end. There should be some exciting games in the driveway this summer.