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Dylan turned back, pinning Cat with her glare. “You have something to add, Catherine? You haven’t added much during the game.”

Cat flushed at the rebuke, but held her ground. “I know coach. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not playing worth a damn. But…I’m not ready to give up yet. I

think we can win. I know we can. I’m asking for another chance to prove ourselves.”

Dylan’s eyes narrowed in challenge. “And how do you intend to do that?”

Cat took in a deep breath as she thought about her answer. “Look. I know I’ve got the least amount of professional experience here, but I also know what

it’s like to go up against a team of bruisers whose only skill is intimidation. I’ve been through my share of those games in high school and college. We

probably all have.”

Most of the players nodded.

“I can’t speak for anyone but myself, but I know that I’m playing the way I am because I’m frustrated. And I also know that that is exactly what they want.

It’s why they’re doing it. And I think that they think of us as some second rate loser team that they can just bowl over with their tactics and we’ll run home

with our tails tucked between our legs.” Her eyes scanned the team, seeing grudging agreement in most of their faces. She smiled a little. “Face it, the

Badgers haven’t always had the best reputation.” Her face became serious. “But we’re not those Badgers anymore. We’re a different team with a different

attitude, and I’m going to try my best to play with that attitude for the rest of this game.”

An assortment of cheers came from the ranks.

“I think that we’ll all play better if we accept these two basic facts. The referees are blind, and our opponents are bullies. Accept those facts, deal with

them, and move past them. If we stick to our own game plan and don’t let their tactics affect us, they’ll be the ones getting frustrated before long.”

Dylan looked on, keeping a smile of pride from creeping onto her face by determination alone. Before her eyes, Catherine was fully becoming the leader

Dylan had known she would be. It was a wonderful sight.

When one of the timekeepers stuck her head in the room and told Dylan that it was time to return to the court, the coach stepped back and allowed a much

more enthusiastic team stream past.

Only then did a smile fully bloom on her face.

Back on the court, Cat was pleased to see that most of the crowd had remained despite the team’s horrible effort, and she vowed right then and there if

there was any way to pull this game out, she was going to do it for her team mates, her coaches and the fans.

She took the time to offer words of encouragement to other members of her team, and was pleased with the intent, confident looks she in turn received.

The second half began. It was blistering from the start. The Pistols started in with their old tactics of slash and burn, and the Badgers did their best to

ignore them.

There was a new sense of purpose and determination in the Badgers, and it was manifesting itself rather quickly. With Cat firmly manning the helm, they

managed to close the gap down to two points in the first seven minutes, though Coles, their best forward, picked up two quick fouls and had to sit out the

rest of the game.

Anya, the Ukrainian walk on, took over. She was used to the more physical play from her days in the World Leagues, and she handled the attacks on her

with grace and flair, quickly scoring a sweet three-pointer on a no-look pass from Cat that finally put the Badgers up by a point.

The crowd was on their feet when their team took the lead. The energy was crackling through the arena like small bolts of lightening and Cat could feel the

hair on her arms stand on end.

The Pistols however, weren’t quite ready to give up. One of their forwards became free on a fast break, and with an uncontested lay-up, the lead was

theirs once again.

As Cat charged back down the court, dribbling easily and flashing the play to her teammates, she easily avoided a hand that tried to clothesline her. A

quick head duck, and a left-right juke, and she crossed over half court, waiting for the play to develop around her.

The defense was a simple man-to-man, and Chaney executed a perfect pick, allowing Cat to come free. Then the shooting guard took a step back off her

defender, received Cat’s bullet pass, and sunk a shot from just inside the key. Pumping her fist in the air, she then swatted Cat a good one on the rump as

they both ran down the court to take up their defensive positions.

Cat spared a quick glance at the play clock and, seeing four minutes proudly displayed, realized for the first time in her professional basketball career, that

these were going to be the longest four minutes of her life.

She wasn’t wrong.

The Pistols took their time, slowing their game, and watching as the clock ticked down its final minutes. Try as they might, the Badgers couldn’t come up

with a steal, and Cat watched in disgust as their defensive scheme broke down and an easy shot was scored.