By Sara Page, Midlothian Exchange
spage@midlothianexchange.com

It’s easy to end a basketball game. One team wins; one team loses. Both teams move on to whatever is next.

What’s not so easy is ending a run of four years of playing the same game with the same group when each team member has come to know all the others’ habits and playing styles. In one moment, players are sad and stunned, knowing they’ll move on, but not quite ready to face doing it.

That’s where the Cosby girls’ basketball team found themselves after last Friday’s 65-57 loss to Lake Taylor in the VHSL Group AAA girls’ basketball quarterfinal.

“I expect to have a Cosby High School cheering section at my wedding,” joked senior forward Becca Wann tearfully.

“The truth is that there’s always going to be basketball,” she continued. “I’m playing at the next level, but it’s the girls. I’ve been playing with Kelsey [Conyers] for 10 years, and I’ve been playing with them (Jazmin Pitts and Andrea Bertrand) for four, and coach (Rachel Mead) has been my coach for four. There’s always basketball. Even when I’m 40, there’ll be teams for me to play on, but I think it’s just the fact that every day after school we’re not going to have two hours together listening to music and practicing and dancing around. I really do think it’s the relationships. That’s what makes this so hard.”

Down 12 at halftime, Cosby came out fighting in a game that pitted Titans against Titans.

Bertrand opened the second half with a short jumper, and Conyers went coast to coast off a defensive rebound to cut the lead to single digits and force a Lake Taylor time out.

Lake Taylor regained momentum on a layup by Tasia Majors and extended the lead to 13 with a minute left in the third quarter.

With 31 seconds to go, Wann went up for a rebound on the offensive end and took what appeared to be a hard foul, landing squarely on her back. She lay on the floor in obvious pain, but waved off Cosby trainer Ed Metzger and climbed slowly to her feet. Even after being taken out of the game for the remainder of the quarter, she gave him thumbs up on the sideline, though still appeared to be favoring her back.

“My freshman year, I broke my back, and it kind of felt sort of like the same thing but there was no way I was telling Ed that because there was no way I was not going to finish the game,” Wann said. “I’ll be OK. We’ve got a soccer scrimmage on Tuesday so …”

The play was called a jump ball but stayed in Cosby’s possession. Freshman guard Adriane Vaughan replaced Wann for the final seconds of the third quarter and helped Cosby regain momentum with a pair of free throws to end the quarter.

Cosby hit six unanswered points to start the final quarter and drew within five, but a series of turnovers kept the team from getting any closer.

“They just made their free throws, and it just turned into the end of a basketball game,” Wann said. “I think we did all we could to come back, but I think we could have fixed it in the first half and we didn’t. But that’s on us.”

Wann led the way with 18 points and nine rebounds; Bertrand added 17 points and eight rebounds; and Pitts ended with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Linda Stepney led Lake Taylor with 28 points and Breshara Gordon finished with 20.

The loss closed three amazing high school careers for Bertrand, Pitts, and Wann. With nearly 5,000 points between them and countless steals and assists, the three are expected to make immediate impacts with their college squads.

“They’re going to do really good things outside of Cosby High School, and I’ve told them that I’ve truly enjoyed the ride, but it’s not over for them,” Mead said.

“It’s definitely not the ending we thought it was going to be,” Bertrand added. “We’re a great team. It’s been a great four years. In my heart, I know it’s not about where we ended up or what we didn’t do. I met a lot of amazing girls along the way and to share this whole thing, these past four years, this past year with the girls on this team and coaches and everyone is amazing. I don’t think any other team is as close as we are.

“No matter what happened tonight, our friendships, they’ll last years beyond this, and that’s more than a state championship. That’s more than any championship,” she concluded.