It was one of those matches. It was the kind of match that you don’t forget, the kind of match where you can literally feel the tension mounting, the kind of match where you just want the final 5 minutes to end, the kind of match you know you’ll look back on once the season has ended and say: “This is when I first saw what this team could do. This is when I first understand what could become of them. This is when I first fell in love with them”.

It was the kind of match which was as much as about what happened as what didn’t. Talicia Jackson didn’t break AU’s 3 point record. Pam Stanfield wasn’t the playmaker- she didn’t even play, due to injury. Michelle Kirk didn’t make any 3 pointers. And yet, in the battle for first place -and it was a battle in every sense of the term- it was American University which came victorious, 64-58.

In hindsight, it had all the makings of an epic battle, of an epic match- the kind you will reference long after the season is over (and the season is only midway through- what promise this team shows!). It was a match which saw the lead being exchanged 9 times, 10 ties, and over 30 turnovers. It was a match which saw AU hit 31 free throws, and Holy Cross, normally so reliable, only going to the charity stripe 5 times. It was, by all means, “one of those” matches.

It’s hard to describe the exact moment when it all became clear, but it’s a moment we’ve all experienced with ‘our’ teams. It’s that moment when you’re sitting at the edge of your seat, biting on your nails as your team switches onto a defensive move, and then swing into an offense- and then there’s that moment, and you just start to believe. You believe you can win this. You believe in this team, in this coach. You believe your team has what it takes. It happened like this: sophomore Michelle Kirk was at the free throw line, shooting two in an attempt to increase AU’s small lead (they were up by 2). She hits the first one but misses the second. Cue an offense burst, Holy Cross commits another foul, and Kirk is sent back to the charity stripe. This time she makes both of them, and AU’s lead increases to 39-34.

Therefore it goes almost without saying that Kirk is a ‘big game’ player. She does well in the so-called ‘lesser’ games, like against Colgate. But put her in a high intensity situation, like the games against Army or Holy Cross, and she simply comes into her own. She moves better, scores more, runs faster, fights more. She lives for these kind of games- the whole team does. It’s what makes them good. It’s what makes them win.

It wasn’t a pretty win by any mean. It was actually rather messy- but most epic, exciting matches are just that. Those kind of games are won on free throws that are made as much as missed, on offensive rebounds as much as defensive (thank you, Liz Leer, for forever being in the right place at the right time), on missed 3 pointers as much as the ones made. It was about hussling when you’d rather play prettily. But pretty isn’t what wins matches. Fighting harder, wanting it more- that’s what wins matches. That’s what makes an epic battle.

That’s what makes this team, well, them.

AU’s next match is at home against Navy at 7pm.