Chapter Three: Whose Script?

Harbor's offense became a gear spinning without teeth. Four turnovers in two minutes. A two-point lead became a six-point deficit. Du did not call Xinglan's name. Luo sat directly behind him. Tang hesitated on a catch and lost the ball. Qiao picked up her fourth foul covering the break. The familiar collapse was repeating, only earlier. With 8:07 left, Yunzhou called timeout. Xinglan stepped in front of Du. “Put me in.” “Two more minutes.” “In two minutes, Qiao gets her fifth. After the timeout, number twelve will fake a screen for the point guard, then slip. They want Qiao to switch.” Qiao stared. Xinglan had made the exact warning before tipoff. “How can you know?” Du asked. “Pattern in the film.”