Whether they were crammed in the bleachers, standing along the end zones or doorways or on the court, every single person inside Arts & Sciences’ gym knew where the ball was going. With GPS trailing rival Baylor by one and fewer than 10 seconds remaining in the championship of the annual Best of Preps tournament, Bruisers all-state wing Chadarryl Clay was going to put up the final shot. Right?
In such a critical moment, Clay, who as a junior already has a half dozen Division I offers and had scored her 1,000th career point during the game, did get her hands on the ball and drove toward the basket. But once Baylor’s defense collapsed around her, rather than forcing up a shot, Clay found teammate Simone Busby in the post. Busby, who earlier had missed a shot from nearly the same spot, banked in a layup with 1.5 seconds remaining in overtime to give GPS its first tournament title after twice finishing runner-up.
“I’ve been playing with Chadarryl for so many years and I know how she works,” said Busby, who was named tournament Most Valuable Player. “She usually likes to drive, draw, then dish it, so I knew to expect the pass. After that, I was just thinking, ‘finish.'”
With Clay’s ability to penetrate or make shots from the outside, and Busby, who is a state champion in the discus and finished second in the shot put, controlling the post, GPS could be in for more gold hardware this season. The Bruisers are now 8-0, beating their first two Best of Preps foes by 22 and 14 points. After a slow start, they showed a lot of determination by rallying from an 11-point first-half deficit and didn’t panic when Baylor picked itself off the deck to hit a 3-pointer and force overtime.
“We’ve got a lot of heart and desire and the thing about this team is we have a lot of big-game experience now,” Busby said.
The Bruisers also have something that can’t be taught, an unspoken connection between Clay and Busby that obviously can pay off in the crunch.
“Those two live in a different wavelength together as far as seeing each other and passing the ball, or just knowing what to expect the other to do,” GPS coach Susan Crownover said. “Once Chadarryl got her hands on the ball, I liked our chances of something good happening. Whether it was her taking the last shot or getting it to the right spot, she has a knack for making big plays. I mean, she drew three defenders to her because they all expected her to take the last shot, but her vision is so amazing that she was still able to spot the open shooter and make a great pass around those three.
“That was a pretty amazing play by both of them in a really tough spot.”