Flagrant Foul (gxg)

Chapter 3

I was wrong. Evidently, she didn't have a second pair of shoes. It was a big pregame story, because the team had scoured all the local shoe stores, and she was able to get a pair that would work, though they weren't what she liked. A new pair, identical to the lost pair, were en route and would be there for the second round game.

It didn't matter, they were playing the #16 team, a college I'd never heard of called Longwood, and crushed them. Tegan could have played barefoot, and they would have won just fine. I felt bad. I knew she was probably embarrassed about the shoes going missing and having to lie about it being lost on the plane. I just hoped she didn't get in too much trouble with her coach!

After that first game, she played amazingly well. I watched every game that they played, while also keeping an eye on UNC. UNC was a #5 seed, so they had a tougher run of it. Duke hadn't even made the tournament, as they had an off season, so they were already back home.

Both teams easily made it through the first two rounds, and then things got dicey in the sweet 16. UNC was going up against the top seeded South Carolina Gamecocks and hung tough but still lost by eight points. Imani played great, the 5'6" guard had 22 points, and was the best player in the game, even in a loss.

As for NC State, they had a tough game against Notre Dame, and only won by three points. Tegan had a game that wasn't up to her standards, it looked like she was really jawing at one of the Notre Dame players and it threw her off her game. I'd have to remember that when she became my teammate, try to keep her away from that kind of situation.

So, UNC went home, and my future team went on to the next round and played UConn in the elite eight. UConn has been a women's basketball powerhouse for years now, and they were good again this year. It was an incredibly high scoring game, with Tegan scoring 28 points on her own, but UConn won 91 to 87, and after that Tegan was no longer on TV.

Was I a little obsessed? Maybe, yeah. But I was also excited. That was my future team, and I was looking forward to playing with them in the future. That kind of atmosphere, that big time championship excitement, that was what I craved! Oh, and Tegan sitting on my face again, that would be nice.

I watched the rest of the tournament, even with my teams out of it. South Carolina ended up winning at the end, beating UConn for the championship. I'd watched the tournament in previous years, most girls that play basketball do, but now that I was only months away from playing with them, it took on even more meaning. The women playing in these games were soon to be my peers and competitors, and I spent the week after the tournament playing pickup games wherever I could.

Guys on the local public court were used to me now, and I no longer had to worry about people thinking I was just a tall girl trying to play. All I needed to do was dunk on them a few times, then drop some three pointers, and I got the respect that I deserved. The only issue I occasionally had now was guys asking me out over at the courts. The regulars knew I was into girls, so they didn't try, but there was always someone new who thought I'd be perfect for their next conquest. Unfortunately for them, while I haven't had boxing lessons recently, I could still put their asses down on the court with a punch to the nose if need be.

The other big thing that happened after the tournament was that my Instagram feed just blew up. When I committed to NC State, it was big news, because I was a top three national recruit, and they were already a great team. A lot of their fans started following me, and I started posting more frequently. I was near Miami, and it was coming up on summer time, so there were plenty of chances to get some good outdoor shots at the beach and on the courts, and I took full advantage of it.

Why did that matter so much? Well, because now that all of us control our Name, Image and Likeness, or NIL, students have been able to get endorsement deals. In some cases, especially for us women, we can make more in college than going pro because the pro leagues don't pay too much. So, if I was lucky, I could get a few deals and help out my mom and uncle who have done so much to support me over the years.