Headshot of Kirstin Schlumbohm. Photo by Payton Stephens.
Imagine two more hours until you’re about to play your biggest rival. A team’s name we don’t speak of. You and your teammates have been preparing for this game since you first stepped on the court.
You are about to warm up. Sweat dripping, hands shaky but feeling confident as ever.
You are zoned in. As the crowd starts rolling in, you feel a little nervous as the spectators come in and judge the way you shoot the ball.
The student section is already making fun of how you look. As they scan the roster, they find your social media and find every flaw to call out as you’re shooting a free throw.
THIS IS THE RIVALRY.
As a freshman you don’t quite understand the rivalry. Why are we not supposed to like them? Why is it such a big game? All those questions soon to be answered, I just know when we hear about them there’s a cringe on coach’s face that lights a spark in everyone.
From left, Lacie Fenstermaker, Kirstin Schlumbohm, Kyla Columber and Madison Brown. Photo by Nevin Robson.
It is hard to feel excited about games as a freshman, you know you’re not going to step on the court until the very last few minutes but it’s the feeling of “When am I going in?”, that keeps you in the game. Your stomach feels a little numb, you want to go in but you don’t want to mess up.
As both teams finish their warm up, we all come together for the National Anthem. Heart is beating. We line up for our starters’ names to be called. As each name is called the louder we get. Our opponent’s team is called, our student section has already started booing.
The game is about to begin. The crowd is huge. Has the gym gotten smaller?
Morgan Smith wins jump ball. The game is on.
We start out with a jump, feeling great but not just yet. Our opponent has gotten better. They have home-court advantage, their student section has gotten larger. There’s more energy, and the game has gotten tighter.
We are in overtime.
The gym is crowded, it is hot. The nerves are high, everyone is on edge. Everyone is thinking the same thing:
“How are we playing in overtime?”
Both student sections are up and roaring, making the gym so loud and we can’t hear. THIS a great basketball atmosphere.
Shot after shot, everything seems to keep going in. We make a shot, they make a shot. We miss. They miss. The game doesn’t end.
Sammy Shardo hits a deep three to keep us in the game and send us into double overtime.
If you thought the crowd couldn’t get any larger, it just did. The men’s game is after ours, so the crowd just keeps growing. It is the loudest it’s been all night.
Double overtime with your rival.
Same as before, shot after shot. Staying with each other. We finally give, with 12.6 seconds we have the ball, down two. We miss, we foul, and they win.
So many emotions—the hatred, the heartbreak, the shock of losing to your rival.
No one person is to blame.
We move on, until next year, knowing the rivalry will live on.
