Kaley May was a senior this past year at Avon, where she averaged 14 points and eight rebounds a game in helping the Orioles to a 14-9 season. The Butler-bound player was kind enough to keep a journal for us during her time as an Indiana All-Star.
She describes her trying experiences as the Indiana girls were being swept by Kentucky in the following blog …
June 13
The morning started off with high anxiety and expectations. When we first stepped on the floor for the shootaround, all of us were amazed at the size of Conseco Fieldhouse. A few of the girls, including me, had never played on that floor, so we were very excited for what the game might be like.
About an hour before the game, we walked into the huge locker rooms and put our Indiana uniforms on. Coach Kem Zolman came in and gave us a motivational speech just before we ran out to warm up. The crowd cheered and my heart pounded so fast realizing what I was representing and how important the game really was.
I can’t describe what I felt when they turned the lights off to announce our names. I felt so blessed to be a part of such an honorable event.
I couldn’t sit still on the bench as I watched my teammates that I had been preparing for Kentucky with the whole week. We had worked so hard in practice to try to continue the Indiana tradition. We got the tip and away we went.
Our eyes were opened quickly as we dug ourselves into an early hole. It was clear that the nerves were affecting our play, so Coach called a timeout to calm us down. When Coach called my name to go in, I was so excited to enter the game and make something happen. I got a couple of rebounds and an assist, but I was determined to do more.
The first half did not go as planned for us; we racked up 20 turnovers and allowed Kentucky to use their speed up the court to shoot layups on us. We went in the locker room at halftime disappointed in ourselves, specifically with our defense and rebounding. Coach pumped us up again and away we went.
In the second half we tried to cut the lead, but it seemed every time we made a good play, they would have an answer. With about 16 minutes to go, I went in and I just didn’t want to waste the opportunity to help my team. I scored on a drive and picked up a couple boards as well as an assist in the post and another on a fast break. I tried to hustle as much as I could defensively and on the boards because I knew that was what we needed.
We cut the lead to six with under eight minutes left. After a timeout and a rotation change, we hoped fresh legs would keep us in the game, but after two quick 3-pointers by Kentucky, it was apparent they weren’t having it.
When the final buzzer sounded, disappointment and frustration were very strong amongst all of us. Coach told us to keep our heads up and work hard with focus in our upcoming practices so that we could show what we were capable of in Louisville. Although we’ll never get that game back, we know that we can improve and leave our hearts on the court in the Sunday game in Louisville.
The pressure of tradition looms over our heads, but we will continue to try to make our fellow Hoosiers proud.
June 15
We arrived at the hotel the night before the game in good spirits, hoping to redeem ourselves. On game day, we had a nice shootaround in the historic Louisville Gardens. We went back to the hotel to rest up, got some lunch, and got ready to head to the game.
Kentucky was already on the court stretching out when we got there. When we saw them and their focus, we knew we had to get ourselves in the right state of mind. We ran out on the floor to warm up and everything seemed to go well. We were all feeling good and ready to go. Coach Zolman told us to play our game and not let them control the tempo. We planned to try to control their speed up the court and get on the boards better on both ends.
Coach also told me that I would be starting this game. I was nervous – not because of who we were facing, or the stage we were on – but because I didn’t want to make him regret his decision.
As the ball went up, Alex Guyton got the tip and away we went. We ran one of our plays and it worked like it should: ball handler draws the trap out high and dishes to the roller. I got the ball under the basket and went up. I got hit by two different girls, but it was a “no-call” according to the refs.
On three consecutive offensive possessions, we got hit under the basket and they were no-calls. We knew very early it was going to be a rough game, with not very many calls going to go our way.
Kentucky had a great start. They jumped out to an 18-0 lead about three minutes into the game. All of us players were extremely frustrated with ourselves and the fact that Kentucky wasn’t missing.
The first half was a forgettable one. We felt like we could do nothing right and Kentucky couldn’t do anything wrong. We were rushing things, racking up turnovers, taking bad shots, and doubting each other. When I was in, I felt like it all went so fast and we had no grip on the game.
When we went into the locker room at half, Kentucky was up by 26 and they were shooting 67 percent from 3-point range and 47 percent from the floor. Coach told us to go out there and make a statement the second half and chip away at the deficit with good play because we wouldn’t make up that much of a deficit in one shot. He said we needed to score 13 points in the first ten minutes and find a way to win in the second 10 minutes.
We went back out on the floor, upset with our first-half play but determined.
The second half did not go as planned. Kentucky continued to be on fire from the floor and raised the lead minute by minute. I was upset with myself for not doing what I needed to do when Coach chose not to start me the second half, but I wanted to go out there and make something happen when I got to go in.
I sat there watching the game slip from our hands before Coach finally called my name. I wanted to make something happen so bad that I was trying too hard. I took an ill-advised shot and had a couple of turnovers, and I was right back out. I sat the bench until the final five minutes.
Down by 40, I was so upset that I almost didn’t want to go in because I thought to myself, “What’s the point?” I swallowed that selfishness and tried to go out there and get rebounds and cause turnovers. I finally scored, but Kentucky was relentless in their efforts. I had never seen a team stay so hot for an entire game like that; there was no getting them off their game.
Kentucky’s play, combined with the adversity from the referees and the fans, produced the most hostile environment that I had ever been in as a player.
The final buzzer sounded, and I could not hold the tears back from the frustration and anger because that was not the way the week was supposed to go. We felt like we had let tradition down. Coach told us to keep our heads up because we all have bright futures ahead of us and it was a pleasure getting to know us.
I left the gym with my family, dreading what people might say or how the media would react. But I still had a great experience. I learned so much from the girls and the coaches, and I am one of very few people that can say they were an Indiana All-Star – regardless of what the scoreboard said.
Kaley May
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