[T]he Pine Forest Trojans were ranked at the top of the league due mainly to their star player, Petra, who stood six feet, three inches. In contrast, the Wolverines were languishing at the bottom, but no one knew better than me how hard my team worked or saw the potential my players had for making it all the way to the State Championship. But that night, before the warmups ended, before the teams took to the court, before the whistle blew, or the first basket could be made, the Westover Wolverines had been stamped losers.
I was blue/black mad. I ended the warmups early and called the players into the back room. I explained why there was a noticeable show of press. “They are here to capture Coach Jackson’s 600th career win. The message the press is sending is that it’s as good as done. You, Wolverines, don’t stand a chance. You are not a good enough team to beat those Trojans. They are insulting Westover.” That comment alone stirred a rallying reaction. I witnessed fired-up defiance in their eyes and seized the momentum. I spoke aloud the words of the poem, See It Through, by Edgar Albert Guest – a poem that I had recited virtuallyevery day since I pledged for the Omega Psi Phi fraternity at NorfolkState University. . . .
“So, you can go out there and play as individuals and lose,” I said, constraining my raw emotions, “or you can play as a team and win!” Westover lost by seventeen points – Pine Forest Trojans, 56; Westover Wolverines, 39.
Advance precisely thirty-four days – January 22, 1999 – the Wolverines stampeded onto the homecourt of Westover High School for their second face-off against the Pine Forest Trojans. The whistle blew! Shante Womble, a freshman point guard, fired up and raring to play, controlled the jump ball and took the lead. Petra, the Trojans’ star player, swung into action, quickly found her stride, and scored nearly ten points. I called a time out. The team and I huddled, searching for a way to slow or stop Petra. I decided the most effective strategy was to force Petra out, keeping her away from the basket. At halftime, the Wolverines exhibited its strength as a team. The players managed to control the ball and gained a two-point lead. Again, I huddled with the players and changed the strategy. I pressed them to execute a more forceful defense. Using the new strategy, Shante made two steals and completed two crucial layups. I pushed the team to keep the pressure on Petra, a strategy that worked until the fourth quarter. The Wolverines and the Trojans traded the lead at a dizzying pace. The game was so close, it was impossible to predict the outcome. I believed my team could win. The Wolverines had to believe they could win. I doubled down on my players, daring not to ease up for a second.
I commanded my team to hold onto their confidence. During some point in that hair-raising contest, the players experienced an awesome lightbulb moment. The Wolverines finally realized the magic was within them. If they played together as a team, they could win. Now what my players needed was an extra boost of confidence in their talents and skills, the courage to pass the ball, and the fearlessness to risk taking the shot. Every ingredient resided in the Wolverines’ small forward, Monica Anderson, a sophomore recruited straight out of middle school. The Wolverines banded together and applied extraordinary pressure on Petra. Teammates Monica, Shante, Saroya, Natalie, and Charise scrambled to execute critical rebounds and several two-point baskets, each scoring double digits. The clock began ticking down the last minutes. The whistle blew! The game was over. Supporters poured onto the court. The Trojans lost by fifteen points – Westover, 55; Pine Forest, 40. The morale of the Wolverines was elevated even higher when the Fayetteville Observer reported: ‘The Westover Wolverines ended a four-year streak of girls’ basketball frustration Friday by beating Mid-South 4-A Conference foe Pine Forest, 55-40. Shante Wombal, Saroyal Jones, Natlie Lewis, Monica Anderson and Charise Champion all scored in double figures as the Wolverines ended an 87-game losing streak. . . .’
“Even if we don’t get to the playoffs this year,” I said to the reporter from the Fayetteville Observer, “I believe we’ll be a contender next year and for many years to come. Now there are more expectations. We’ve got to show everybody this wasn’t a fluke, that we can do it again.”