We caught the last half of the Cal - George Washington game. It looked like Cal had it in the bag. Struggling, not playing their best, but they were consistently ahead. Then, about 10sec left they dribbled the ball down their side of the court, 5sec left and a Cal player called time out. In a very questionable call the ref blew the whistle signaling traveling. What?! The crowd, including the opponents couldn't believe it. Traveling, about 5 sec left and the ball goes to GW. The girl takes it down the court, 3 sec left, pass here, pass there, 1 sec left she takes a shot... ball drops in at the buzzer. I don't know why they called the time out. Im not sure why they just didn't hold on and dribble. It doesn't matter, it was done, the game was over. It really was crazy. They replayed the shot and the ball definitely dropped. They didn't replay the traveling call though, and honestly it was just so questionable. The crowd didn't know what to do, it was such a shocker. I would have been devastated had I been a true blue Cal fan, but as an admirer of all things sports related I couldn't help but just say wow! Now that's a game. GW will probably be killed in the next round, but they didn't give up, they fought to the end, and that is what it's all about.
At 7:30 sharp the real show began. Stanford playing some orange team named UTEP (University of Texas El Paso). Playing a little rocky at first Stanford finally got pumped up and put on a show. Solid as ever there were little mistakes and few fouls. As the game kept on my mouth dropped more and more, until I couldn't even clap. I just stood in amazement as Candace Wiggin's scores 44 points in a 88-54 win.
This girl has heart, talent, drive, and leadership. She has an awareness of the court and also of the fans surrounding her. The harder she played the harder her teammates played. Her game was truly incredible and so inspiring. Walking back to the car I wondered, (speaking about Wiggins) 'What does one do after a game like that? After a performance like that? What can you do'?
As a fan it just makes me want to scream and run and jump and smile. I can't help but appreciate her performance and the simple fact that this is sports in it's truest form. This is competition. This is what it's all about. Right now I hope the team doesn't let up and continues to back their key player. She deserves it.
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