Innocent strangers

Risk

Rylee's pov:

It was then I felt something hit my back. I didn't realize it then but it was the ball and Caitlin's face whispering sorry. I couldn't believe it what a dirty play. It was like she took the knife and twisted it, I could only see red. The only logical thing I could do was scream at Caitlin

Rylee: Be fair, that ain't a move Caitlin that's an insurance policy. Lets play some real ball

With that Caitlin passes the ball to Gabbie. But I was too upset to even comprehend what I did next. I saw the ball move from the corner of my eye. It was like time stoped, reaching out my arm and grabbing the ball. with 1.1 seconds left on the clock and the score 69 to 71 I did something crazy, from deep into the paint on Iowa's side I launched the ball towards the net. I watch as I see the ball slowly spin around the rim and by a some luck fall into the basket. I could't comprehend what just happened but all of a sudden I see Paige and Nika charging at me. I was still so shocked that when they reached me I fell to the ground

Paige: Your the goat!!!! I can't believe that worked

Nika: You did it Clark you got us to the championships

Rylee: Did we win?

Paige who is crying almost sobbing at this point: Yes, you did it Ry, you pulled us through

Game recap:

Rylee Clark leads Uconn rally for a 72-71 win over Iowa in women's Final Four. South Carolina awaits them

-Rylee Clark found a way, it is the younger Clark that end's up on top with the winning buzzer beat pushing UConn in to the championship by 1 point. A heated exchange between the two sisters with 1.9 seconds left. Experts saying that this fueled Rylee allowing for the game winning shot from deep within Iowa territory on the court. "You had to be there to witness it, what a game thrilling end"-Travis Kelce says "If you aren't into women's sport you just missed history being made"-Steph Curry stated

Back on the court: 

Confetti fell from the ceiling of blue and red it was a moment Rylee would remember forever. But she knew that before she could celebrate she had to see her sister

Rylee: Cait I'm so sorry, I know it was your dream and you were amazing. You'll get it next year

Caitlin: No, worries bug it was a fair game and I guess it was karma for playing dirty

Rylee's pov:

I hug Caitlin and Kate for what if felt like forever, while I should be celebrating I know they needed my comfort more as a friend

Caitlin: go celebrate with you team you deserve it, I'm proud of you. Do me a favor win against South Carolina at least bring a ring home for the Clark house hold

Rylee: thanks I will

After hugging Iowa goodbye it was time to celebrate. I was so ecstatic and couldn't believe that this was real life. As soon as we received the trophy held onto it as my team was carrying me in the air. This was the high I was chasing season and I can only hope to win the championship

Post game conference:

Interviewer 1: Congratulations girls, I have to ask how are you feeling

Paige: Amazing, it's such a good feeling to be back after my injury and be so close to a championship

Nika: I agree, we are definitely on a high of adrenaline right now 

Rylee: I'm pretty good

Interviewer 2: Rylee how does it feel to be as the press is calling it the better Clark

Rylee: Well, I would first like to address this comment, I am not the better Clark. There is no better Clark, we are all equal and I think it's crazy how the media has pined my sister and I up against each other. At the end of the day we are still both kids with a passion for basketball. One basketball game don't define our worth or who is the better one and quite frankly it's unprofessional and rude to comment on this. Word's have impacts and I myself have gotten off of social media as I have been receiving hate saying that Uconn didn't deserve to win. and how I am only in the championship by luck and I'm the winner I can't imagine why the press is saying about Iowa. I knew going into this one of us were going to leave heart broken but I guess it's both of us

(Both Paige and Nika rub you back for support)

Interviewer 3: I just want to say what an incredible game, with an amazing ending. What was the game plan coming into this game

Paige: yeah, we knew Iowa was going to be aggressive, they wanted it bad as we did since they were in this position last year but we knew that we needed to dig deep and pull out a win

Nika: I think for us we are such a tight group and we knew that we had to do if for each other and Rylee's pep-talk at the end helped as well.

Interviewer 4: What was the pep-talk about?

Rylee: Yeah, I pretty much told the girls to give it everything we had. I knew that we were all exhausted and wanted the game to end. And when we get to these intense high stake games doing it for yourself is not enough. So I told them to do it for the girls who are injured who are aching to be in the game and for Coach because he invest so much into us.

Interviewer 5: Rylee we saw a heated argument between you and Caitlin can you tell us what was going on?

Rylee: Yeah, it wasn't my proudest moment, I think I could have handled it better. This isn't an excuse but I think with these high pressure games where we did leave the game up to chance, it's easy for any of us to snap. So To my fans, my team, my Coaches to my Family and mostly to Caitlin: I'm so sorry, this is not how I want to portray myself. I let anger get the best of me and Caitlin know that I love you and everyone at Iowa and that I am so so sorry for my actions

Post game conference with Geno:

Interviewer 1: Congratulations on the game, how do you think the girls played

Geno: Yeah, I'll come right out and say we weren't thinking straight. We only had 7 players dressed for this game which puts stress on everyone and I think we could have done better and not have let the game up to chance

Interviewer2: We just spoke to the girls and Rylee seems to be both happy and sad to win. With such an amazing 3 pointer to put you in the championship what are you thought about Rylee

Geno: Man that kid is great, she has a heart of gold. I mean everyone saw it today, she wears her heart on her sleeve and goes to extreme lengths to protect the one's she loves. I know this was a lot of pressure for her and I told her going into the game that she couldn't make crazy shots. She has come in here as a rookie and really has given all she can to the program. Most kid's these days feel entitled to playing but with Clark its clear she is where she is today because she put in the work and earned it

Interviewer 3: What is you opinion of the buzzer beat by Clark?

Geno: I was of course impressed, its a hard shot to make and Clark just this talent of when her back is against the wall to get out and come out on top and that's exactly that she did today