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Then she told everyone about how it felt to lose her very last game, and that she sometimes wonders if she could've done anything DIFFERENT to change the outcome. Mom said she didn't want US to have any regrets, so we needed to leave everything on the floor today. It was a good speech and all, but the difference between Mom's team and our team was that her team was trying to prove they were the BEST, and we were just trying not to be the WORST. So the truth is, we didn't really need the extra motivation. Yesterday morning, when we showed up at the tournament, nobody knew who we were. But after setting off the fire alarm last night EVERYONE did. 200

接着她跟所有人说起，输掉最后一场比赛的滋味，她说她偶尔也会想，当初换种做法会不会改变结果。 妈妈说她不希望我们留下遗憾，所以今天我们要拼尽全力不留余力。 这番话其实挺棒，但妈妈当年的球队和我们不一样——她们要争第一，我们只想别当倒数。 所以说实话，我们其实真不需要额外打气。 昨天早上我们到赛场的时候，没人认识我们是谁。 可昨晚我们触发火警之后，所有人都认识我们了！ 200

And the team we played in the next round was out for REVENGE. They were the only all-girl team in the whole tournament, and I guess they didn't appreciate having their sleep interrupted. So, when we faced off against the Banshees, they were ready to PLAY. 201

下一轮和我们对战的队伍，就是来找我们报仇的。 她们是整个锦标赛里唯一的全女生队伍，我猜她们肯定讨厌睡觉被人打断。 所以当我们和女妖队对上的时候，她们早就做好开战准备了。 201

In the third quarter, Mom had to take Ruby out of the game to give her a rest. But I really wished she hadn't put ME in to take her place, because it was like throwing raw meat to a bunch of WOLVES. SHRIEK! SCREAM!!! SHRIEK! I don't even remember what the final score was. All I know is that we lost, and they got to go home. STATE PRI VROOM THE BANSHEES 202

第三节的时候，妈妈把鲁比换下场休息。 可我真希望她别换我上场顶替鲁比，这感觉就像把生肉扔进狼群里。 尖叫！嘶吼！ 尖叫！ 我连最终比分都记不清了。 我只知道我们输了，她们晋级了。 州赛冠军 女妖队 202

I have no idea how the Banshees lasted so long in the tournament without a win, because those girls were TOUGH. But, when I saw the two teams who were still fighting for the chance to go home, I could see why those guys were still here. The two teams left were the original Huskies and the Funky Dunkers. And they both looked equally terrible to ME, so it was anyone's game to lose. But the Funky Dunkers only had five players with no subs. So, even though they put up a good fight, they ran out of steam at the end. And that meant they had to face us in the FINALS. 203

我真好奇女妖队没赢过球怎么撑到现在，这些姑娘太能打了。 可当我看到还留在赛场争晋级的两支队伍，我明白他们为什么能留到最后了。 剩下的两支队伍是原生哈士奇队和炫酷扣篮队。 在我看来两队都不太行，所以谁输谁赢还说不准。 不过炫酷扣篮队只有五个队员，一个替补都没有。 所以哪怕他们拼得很凶，最后还是没力气了。 这也就意味着，决赛要由我们对阵他们了。 203

I should've figured this out a lot sooner, but EVERYONE in this tournament couldn't go home a winner. And whoever lost the last game would know for sure that they were the worst team in the state. So we all wanted to win the last game, but nobody wanted it more than MOM. And before we started she went over the game plan and made some last-minute changes to the line-up. By that point, almost everybody had left the building, and the place was practically EMPTY. But then two people walked in through the doors. COURT 1 GLOMP 204

我其实早就该想明白，整个锦标赛不可能所有人都当赢家。 输掉最后一场的队伍，就坐实了是全州最差的队伍。 所以我们都想赢下这场，但妈妈比谁都想赢。 开场前她过了一遍战术，最后还调整了上场阵容。 那时候几乎所有人都走了，场馆里差不多空了。 就在这时，两个人走进了大门。 一号球场 格罗姆普 204

Preet was wearing some sort of boot, so I guess that meant he didn't need crutches any more. Mom asked Mr Patel what they were doing here, and he said they heard we were playing today, so they came to support us. But Mom said we didn't need cheerleaders– we needed PLAYERS. Then she asked Preet if he'd be willing to play in his boot. And I guess Preet must've missed competing, because he said YES. Luckily, Mom had a spare jersey in her bag, and she gave it to Preet to suit up. Then she put him in the starting line-up and told us she was making one more change to the game plan. 205

普里特脚上穿了护靴，看来他不用拄拐杖了。 妈妈问帕特尔先生他们怎么来啦，他说听说我们今天打比赛，特意来支持我们。 可妈妈说我们不需要啦啦队——我们缺的是队员。 接着她问普里特，穿护靴能不能上场。 我猜普里特太想念比赛了，所以他答应了。 幸好妈妈包里有件备用球衣，她给普里特换上了。 接着她把普里特放进首发，还说要再改一次战术。 205