Coming into the final game of the season the team were on a real high. Funnily enough we never set a goal of winning the league or making a playoff final but we found ourselves at the end of an incredible season doing just that!
For many of us, we had made a few trips to Manchester for various finals but never came back home with a gold. It was time for that to change. Coach Stanley had prepared us so well in the week leading up to the final through film sessions and our scout that we felt prepared and ready to go when we made it to Manchester.
The first quarter started and we took an early lead that we managed to maintain for the majority of the game. Credit to COLA, they didn’t let their foot off the gas and we went into the half with a 6 point lead. The second half felt much different to the first, with cola going on a number of runs that we managed to absorb and maintain our lead with an even scoring effort from both teams through the third. The fourth quarter was a tight one with COLA tying the game at 63 a piece with 2:12 left on the clock. A 9-0 scoring run saw us over the finish line with a 78-64 Score line when the final buzzer sounded.
We’ve prided ourselves on a lot this year but nothing more than our core values of resilience, togetherness, and relentlessness. It was these things that helped us towards such a great finals performance. For me the biggest part of our team is our togetherness. We’ve stuck together through thick and thin this season no matter what games, practice or life has thrown at us. Going from a team that had never played together before and that didn’t have a coach at the beginning of the season, it truly has been a fairytale ending.
Congratulations- it’s a fantastic achievement and you are all an inspiration to Imani.