My Life as a Player VII

Nichole's diary of her 2006-07 season with Auburn Riverside ends with the best possible conclusion: a state championship.

Entry No. 7 / March 16, 2007

"Oh My God! We are the Washington State champions of 3A high-school girls basketball! Riverside, baby!"

That’s what I was saying to myself Saturday night after we defeated Chief Sealth of Seattle. Many picked them to beat us because of their size and their dominance inside the paint (by 6-foot-4 Regina Rogers and 6-3 Christina Nzekwe, both of whom are going to UCLA) and Oregon-bound, lightning-quick guard Nia Jackson (no relation, lol!).

First, let me back up for a minute to our semifinal game on Friday night.

To make to “Championship Saturday,” we had to get past 26-0 and No. 2 ranked Meadowdale, which featured one of the top 2008 guards in the state, Eryn Jones, and her sharp-shooting teammate, Marelle Moehrle. Going into the game, we knew we would have another big test and, after the tough Skyline game in the quarters, we knew none of these teams were going to lie down for us. We played as a team, with everyone bringing in-your-face defense - Riverside Basketball!

Final score: Riverside 52, Meadowdale 42

What a great feeling it was to play in the Washington 3A championship game. Hec Ed Pavilion at University of Washington was the perfect venue. The atmosphere was amazing; our crowd was loud and was getting us all “pumped up.” Our families were so wired, it wasn't even funny! We came into this game knowing what we needed to

Nichole and coach Adam Barrett during the
post-title celebration (photo courtesy Jackson
family)

do. Coach Adam Barrett, coach Frank Parker and the staff put together a great game plan against Chief Sealth and all we had to do was go out and execute it. We needed to contain their "bigs." Chief Sealth is a very talented and awesome team, so we played Riverside Basketball again. Our team plays hard every game and in the Finals we found another gear. Because of our great conditioning we ran and pressed the whole game. Even when Coach Barrett subbed players in and out, our intensity never changed, producing Auburn Riverside's first state championship in girls basketball.

Final score: Riverside 56, Chief Sealth 46

Our lone senior, Stephanie Wilber, had a great tournament and game; we are really going to miss her. Our team chemistry is awesome. We love hanging out together off the court, and having the team dinners at each other's house before the game. The thing that no one will ever be able to take away from us is our team bonding. We are sisters to the end and always have each other’s backs, no matter what.

“Nobody said the road would be easy, (but) we said it would be worth it”

After the game, our parents and the awesome Riverside fans were waiting for us in the hallway about an hour later. After greeting everyone we all went to celebrate at our favorite place, the Red Robin in Auburn, with our parents and fans. They stayed open late just for us, and we had the whole place to ourselves to party, be loud, crazy and to get our “grub” on. There were lots of pictures being taken - my face hurts from smiling so much - and we reflected on winning the championship.

Also, we finally got to drink soda pop (which is a no-no during the season). We picked up Coach Barrett and carried him around the restaurant on our shoulders for one last celebration; we ended on one last chant and headed home for our comfortable beds. Coach, I hope you didn’t forget to leave a tip! Lol!

I want to thank everyone for taking time to read my diary, and for following and supporting Auburn Riverside High School girls basketball the whole way. It’s been a great help! Thank you Mom, Dad and my little brother Keenen for all of your love and support. Thank you, Glenn and HoopGurlz, for providing me this wonderful opportunity to let me write about our season.

See everyone on the court.

Nichole, the Riverside team and the Washington State 3A trophy
(photo courtesy Jackson family)

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Nichole Jackson has been a fixture on HoopGurlz.com, as she was a perennial selection to all-tournament teams in youth-basketball events conducted by the website. Last year, Nichole started as a freshman for Auburn Riverside, which advanced to the semifinals of the Washington State 4A tournament. As a sophomore this year, Nichole will run the point for a team expected to be one of the top two in the Washington State 3A classification. A member of the National Honor Society, Nichole hopes to study communications in college and go into broadcasting. Click here to view Nichole's player profile.