𝐖𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐍'𝐒 𝐁𝐀𝐒𝐊𝐄𝐓𝐁𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐈𝐌𝐀𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒

𝐊𝐌 - 𝐒𝐔𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐏𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐒

"I'M SO SICK of this shit, dude!" you exclaim, throwing your hands up in frustration as you paced across the backcourt while the player you "fouled" took her free throws.

"y/n, chill," kate says, turning around to make sure the referees didn't hear your outburst.

"no, kate, i'm serious! the second we stepped onto this court the refs were up our asses and kissing theirs!" you complain, referring to how there were so many forced calls and ignored violations.

"y/n, i get it," she cautions, "i'm on that court, too, i see it. but you gotta calm down before you get a tech."

"i-"

"look at me, y/n," she demands, putting her hands on either side of your face to force you to look into her blue eyes, "you're a fucking beast, okay? you can't let these dumbasses - respectfully - get in your head. got it?"

you falter for a second, suddenly becoming aware of the small amount of distance between you and kate. your breath hitches as you decipher the sincerity and passion behind the girl's words, her entrancing eyes adding to the intensity of the exchange.

"yeah, i got it," you mutter with a flustered look on your face.

"okay then," she smirks at your reaction as she brushes some of the loose hairs out of your face that had fallen from your ponytail, "let's get this win, yeah?"

with a simple nod of your head, you dap up kate and bump your fist against hers before sprinting to get back on offense.

after kate's advice, you ended up practically breaking ankles and scoring a sweet double-double.

------

"i have a question for y/n l/n," the reporter starts with a friendly smile, "i think it's fair to say that you are not afraid to stand your ground and voice your frustrations on the court - it's something that viewers have grown to love. as you prepare to leave iowa, one common supportive thread throughout your collegiate career has been one kate martin, who has always been at your side when things get too heated. care to comment on that?"

you let out an airy laugh as you glance over at the blonde next to you, who also lets out a chuckle.

"well, i mean, i've known this girl for as long as i've been here at iowa. i seriously can't think of a time in the past four years where i didn't have the blessing of her presence, so i think the constant exposure to each other and just the overall tight bond we've formed carries onto the court.

and what i mean by that is whenever i let my emotions get the best of me, kate knows exactly what to do or say to calm me down. i mean, she knows me like the back of her hand after all, so she doesn't hesitate to step in and make sure i keep my eyes on the prize.

she's always by my side for a reason, and that's to keep me grounded. i'm so grateful for it and i try to do the same for her but she's less aggressive than me so not much for me to do there," you end with a laugh.

smiling, you lean back in your chair as you listen to your teammates answer questions of their own. as the panel continues moving smoothly, you fiddle with your hoodie strings as you wait to be asked another question.

"for kate, it looks like there was a brief, heated conversation between you and y/n in the third quarter," the reporter asks as kate's face lights up at the sound of your name, "in relation to the question she got earlier, what does it take to calm down one of the most expressive, confident, and independent players in the game? how is it different from talking to your other teammates?"

you turn to kate when you hear your name mentioned, catching the delighted look on her face. you sit watching her intently as she answers the question.

"right off the bat, i'll say she's stubborn," she starts with a laugh, making the whole room (including you) chuckle at her bluntness, "especially in the middle of a game when she's locked in and completely in her head. it's definitely not a bad habit by any means but sometimes she tends to block out what we tell her which can lead to conflict build-up on the court.

but i think the fact that i notice this and am aware of it kinda lets me know that i have the ability to break through it, if that makes sense. i don't mean to toot my own horn, but as the team leader it's kinda my job to read my teammates and help them out in any way possible that benefits all of us and the score by the end of the night. with y/n it's just easy because i know her so well as a person, so i automatically know her as a player too.

so i guess that's how i'm able to calm her down a little bit but there's definitely a struggle to do so here and there. i mean, like you said, she's one of the most independent players out there which is amazing but we're definitely still working on how to get her to accept help more often."

"i don't know if i should be moved or offended," you playfully mumble into the mic, placing a hand over your heart in pretend pain.

kate chuckles at your reaction before wrapping an arm around your shoulders and pulling you close to her in a tight hug.

you're both smiling and joking for the rest of the conference, spirits lifted after hearing each other's affectionate words about the other.

there was something so comforting in the way you viewed each other and so greatly valued your friendship. you were best friends, sure, but the strength of your bond was one that didn't need to be put into words, it was simply a mutual understanding.

but hearing each of your perspectives spoken publicly for not only you two to understand, but for the whole world to understand made it so much more meaningful.

now if this friendship were to blossom into something more than what it currently is, that would be up to you and kate.

it definitely helped that your teammates also noticed how particularly close you two were. kate eventually learned that apparently they not only loved playing basketball at iowa, but also loved playing matchmaker for the two of you. and for that she was grateful.

- leilani signing off !