Swished Hearts

Deja vu

If Sofia knew how to build a statue, she would definitely had one done here in the middle of Cleveland for Nika Muhl.

The point guard point guard had been relentlessly blocking Caitlin Clark during the first half of the game, stealing the ball once more and sending Sofia's voice hoarse from cheering.

"NIKA MUUUHHLLLLLLLLLL!" The entire bench erupted in deafening chants, their voices blending with the roar of the crowd.

Everyone on the team was holding up quite decently, despite a game that lived up to the expectations. The score was tight, with UConn leading by a few points. Neither Caitlin nor Paige had managed to drain shots like they usually did, and both teams had been solid in making up for it.

The commentators had just updated the viewerships. 14.2 million people were watching the semi-final. This was insane. 

With seconds before the end of Q2, Paige drove to the basket breaking probably 3 pairs of ankles, and scored a layup. Sofia's heart did summersaults as she watched Paige flex her arms and scream out to the roaring crowd.

She was so fucking proud of her.

No one looked as much as in their element as she did right at this moment, gesturing to Iowa fans to bring it louder, running to her teammates still bouncing around high on adrenaline.

As she arrived close to the bench, Sofia ran up to Paige, hugging her tightly and almost lifting her off the ground. Any resentment or anger she may have felt was pushed aside in this moment. When Sofia saw the sheer hapiness on Paige's face as she realized who was hugging her, she didn't regret it one bit.

****

However, "not catching a break" was apparently the new moto of the season. 

Nika was only human and defending one of the top players in the league for 40 minutes without any turnovers would exhaust anyone. Paige responded to Caitlin, Aaliyah coming closely behind in terms of points. But Sofia could tell Iowa's turnover was allowing them better lucidity on the game and fewer mistakes. Slowly but surely, the score gap began to close.

And in the blink of an eye, the situation crashed. Quite literally. Sofia had never seen Nika not quickly stand back up after she was pushed down. And here she was, clutching her already reinforced ankle, remaining motionless on the ground.

Before she could think of the events of last time, she was up her feet, grabical her medical bag, meeting Nika who was helped out by the staff. It was only when she began to examine her ankle that the feeling of déjà-vu dawned on her. She didn't even dare look up to see if the journalists were there again, if the team had gathered around her. She didn't want to have to justify her decision again.

Nika's voice snapped her out of her spiraling.

"So doctor? what do you think?" Nika asked with such confidence that Sofia could have sobbed with gratitude.

"It's sensitive, but it should be fine. Let me ice it for 3 minutes, wrap it again and then we'll see," Sofia replied, her heart on edge, her voice trembling with anxiety. Please don't let her be angry with me. Pleasepleasepleasepl

"Sounds like a good plan. Thanks."

Oh.

So that's how things were supposed to go ?

She smiled gratefully at Nika, who grabbed her chin to force her to look into her eyes. Around them, the entire arena seemed to heave with a bang, thunderous applause resounding between the stands. Iowa must have taken the lead. Sofia didn't want to see the scoreboard anymore. But Nika didn't take her eyes from her.