South Dock led by one. Orchard pushed back. Keisha caught deep in the paint and scored over the reserve forward, giving her team a one-point lead again. 18 seconds remained. Ward used her last timeout.

The girls huddled close enough that Imani could hear Zora breathing hard from the bench. “I’m ready,” Zora said. “You have four fouls,” Ward reminded her. “And legs.” Ward nodded and sent her back.

The set began with a decoy screen away from the ball. Orchard’s best defender followed Imani toward the left sideline. Zora held her position at the free throw line, then slipped toward the rim as soon as the defender turned. Imani didn’t need to invent an impossible shot. She delivered a pass through the narrow opening between two bodies.

Zora caught it, went straight up, and banked it home. South Dock led 63 to 62. Orchard had 6 seconds. Their guard rushed down court, found Keisha in the lane, and Keisha attempted a twisting shot over Zora’s extended arms. It hit the rim, bounced up, and came down into Mina’s hands as the final horn sounded. South Dock’s bench emptied in a rush of noise and damp jerseys.

Imani found Keisha before the handshake line dissolved. “You were hard to guard,” she said. “You were a problem after halftime,” Keisha replied, smiling through exhaustion. “Good luck tomorrow, whoever you get.” The phrase stayed with Imani as they left the court.

“Whoever you get.” Mariner still had to play its own semifinal. No poster could guarantee Brielle’s team a place in the championship, and she would not disrespect the other semifinalists by assuming otherwise. Between the semifinal and the next game’s warm-up, South Dock had 40 minutes in which nobody asked Imani to rescue anything. Ward brought the team into an empty classroom set aside for players and opened a paper bag of sandwiches.

They ate quietly at first. Mina kept replaying the first quarter trap, apologizing every time she reached the part where she had lost the ball. Imani finally stopped her. “You didn’t cost us the game,” she said. “You got through the quarter with them pressing and everybody expecting me. Then you caught the last rebound.”

“Zora boxed Keisha out,” Mina answered. “Right. We needed both of you.” Zora held up half a sandwich. “Then we ought to split a trophy into five pieces.”

“Try 12,” Marisol said. “The bench has been shouting good screens all weekend.” Ward took out a pen and asked each player for one skill she still thought had improved since the first group game. The answers were less glorious than a champion’s speech. Mina called the trap earlier.