High School Basketball

I love me some high school basketball.

I love college basketball, too... especially during March Madness.

And as much as I would have loved for us to have been in the Regional finals tonight, sometimes it's nice to just sit and watch a game where you're not emotionally invested.

Tonight I enjoyed watching the Jenkins-Leslie game.

I loved watching Whitney Creech battle for the basket.  She never gave up, even when she was down. Even though she was frustrated. Caleb was thrilled to take a picture with her at the end of the game. I have no doubt I'll be hearing more about her next year as a Lady Topper at WKU.

I loved watching Shelby Sparks take the ball down the floor, Madison Combs firing her threes, Emily Griffith... well, just pretty much being everywhere on the floor.

Basketball is a fine art...

I've said it before and I'll say it again. There is just something about a group of young athletes playing their hearts out... for the names on their jerseys, the community behind them, their parents in the stand.

Young ladies who grow to love and fight like sisters.

Young ladies who learn from the game but teach us spectators even more... teach us about sportsmanship when maybe we'd rather not turn the other cheek. Teach us about hard work and adversity. Teach us about being appreciative of the moment, which all too fleetingly will disappear.

Thank you, 14th Region, for good times and bad this year. Thanks to the referees for good calls and bad. I really am trying to be less negative...

but am still flabbergasted how a three second call can be made on a defensive player...

Thank you, especially, to my girls.

Now, on to March Madness and bracketology!  (And also to teaching Caleb the finer points of Big Blue Nation... since he sat right behind Joe B. Hall tonight and didn't even know who he was!)