In the late afternoon of Feb. 4, Gabriela Gonzales stood in front of the mirror, exhaling. Her fingers diving, one in front of the other, creating one long braid down her back.
Aside from her, Le’Reatha Burrell paced back and forth as gospel singer Smokie Norful rang through her ears. This was the game of the season.
Gonzales, braiding her hair, and Burrell, listening to gospel music, were going through the same pre-game motions they go through every game. But, this game was different. It was the game that would make the Lady Wolves, Detroit Cristo Rey’s girls’ basketball team, the champions of the Catholic High School League Western Division.
The Lady Wolves prepared for this moment all season. The moment to grasp the title in their hands. They’d survived conditioning, new members and the first game of the season. But now the true test had arrived.
“If you want to pass a test, you study for it,” said Saubir Logan, a second-year member of the Lady Wolves. “It’s the same thing as during a game.”
Logan said she has been playing basketball since third grade, to take advantage of her height.
“Everybody said, ‘You’re so tall. You have to do something with your height.’ And I didn’t want to model, so basketball [it was]. And I fell in love with it,” she said.
Some players were calm and collected before the championship game, but others were nervous. They found their own ways to focus.
“I listen to Gospel music because if I listen to rap I'll get too hype,” said Burrell, a three-year player.
The Lady Wolves’ winning season can be credited to a variety of factors, the teammates say: more teamwork, better communication, new members with excellent skill, even players’ height.
But as those factors change and strengthen, the way the team members get into their element, whether it’s gospel music or hair braiding, is consistent for every game.
