Just short of perfect

The perfect season isn’t easy.

Take it from me, a Patriots fan who saw the dream go up in flames after a miraculous helmet catch by a New York Giant on that fateful Sunday in 2008.

A team going undefeated, staying in first place from wire to wire, is rare and the Fayette County Lady Tigers were close.
How close?

They were within two points of Southwest DeKalb at the half after being down by nine points two minutes earlier. They got within six points twice in the final three minutes of the game. Despite shots rolling out of the net instead of millimeters further down in the hoop, despite not being able to get as close to the net as the Lady Panthers were on their trips down the court, they were almost there.

They lost 59-46.

Late in Friday’s championship game, the Fayette fans stood and cheered as Tessah Holt drove the ball down the court. They had seen miraculous comebacks start in her hands many times before this season and with one more shot, those double digit leads and the swagger of the reigning champions could be erased.

It wasn’t meant to be.

The target that was on the Lady Tigers back got bigger and bigger after every game and Friday’s opponent had been hoping to see the team they knocked off last year in the final once again. Fayette County was certainly up to the challenge of facing any opponent, but perhaps that untangible, squirmy variable known as luck had wriggled its way free after the semifinal game against Jonesboro. A 16 point half time lead evaporated on Wednesday in what seemed like no time at all. The Lady Tigers scored 12 total points in the second half and only two in the final two minutes. In the final seconds they were able to force a jump ball and the possession arrow was going their way.

Lucky.

Any coach will tell you that luck is an important factor to any season and no one who watched these girls play this year can tell you that they didn’t have their share of luck.

Remember the region tournament game against Douglas County? They were a half court shot from Holt away from facing Southwest Dekalb in the opening round of the tournament.

Anyone remember the shot against Osborne that prevented a tie and overtime? Holt took that shot too, with time expiring while flying through the air.

There were some tears on the sideline after Friday’s loss but I hope the girls were told by all who loved them to keep their heads up. They were 31-1 this year and finished the 2008-2009 season ranked second in Class AAAA. In their summer league leading up to this season they went 27-1. Dating back to Jan. 29, 2008, the Lady Tigers went 40-2 in state basketball play and their only losses were to the state champion Lady Panthers.

In the last four years, all under head coach John Strickland, the varsity girls are 90-27 and that’s with a 12-13 year in his first year at the helm.

Those are some very good numbers.

So, here’s my thanks to the Fayette County girls for making the basketball season fun.

Tessah Holt gave all of herself in every game I saw her play and she makes it hard for me to hate all Florida Gators. Anma Onyeuku and Sasha Sims took over so many games with great post play. I’m looking forward to one more year of watching them. Chasity Welch, a fun player to watch on the softball diamond, seemed to always be lurking and ready to break a game open with a big shot, steal or rebound. Dekota Walton and Arielle Register played tenacious defense and made heart-stopping plays, passes and shots. And while I didn’t get to know the other girls who took the court for Fayette County as well, they served their team proud.

As I’m sure many people in the area were last week, I was hoping the team would win a state title - I’m sure no one was hoping for that harder than the girls on that roster. I was disappointed in the result and sad for the girls for falling short of their goal, but I was glad to have followed their journey. Even though I was on the sidelines, I followed every dribble, shot and pass, sometimes with my heart in my throat. It was fun to watch and I hope, for all of the girls on the varsity Lady Tigers, it was fun to play.