Enjoy the game

Anyone out there see that thrilling, edge-of-your seat game Sunday that provided yet another reason why sports are the best?
I couldn’t turn it off. I was mesmerized by the tough defensive effort and yes, offput by some of the calls from the stripes. 
Yes, the two hours spent watching South Carolina and Texas women’s basketball Sunday afternoon left me wanting, no, needing more. 
What game were you thinking of?
Texas ultimately held on to its lead and picked up a 66-62 win over South Carolina, ending the Gamecocks’ 50-plus SEC regular season win streak that previously dated back to 2021. 
It was a matchup of No. 2 versus No. 4 nationally and two teams that will ultimately have a huge hand in deciding what happens in March. I’m here to tell you right now, put women’s basketball on your March Madness radar.
I’ve enjoyed watching the women’s game at the college level, dating back to my coverage days at Wayne State when I was in school.
The women’s game looks so much more like actual basketball. The fundamentals, teamwork, execution. Not to sound too much like an old fart, but the women’s game is played the way basketball used to be played.
Basketball is a game where an individual can make a huge impact, but it always comes down to ‘we’ over ‘me.’
The women’s game right now has so much better flow offensively, so much more selfless play. They want to take charges. They celebrate when they get that call. 
The defensive play is out of this world good. It’s team defense. It’s team basketball. 
Some still do, sure, but there isn’t quite as much trigger-pulling on the three-point shot. In the South Carolina-Texas game, there were just 23 three-point shots taken. 
Run an offense. Find an advantage down low. Convert on the block. 
Don’t worry, though. If you’re looking to wet the appetite for women’s basketball, your next big opportunity comes Sunday when South Carolina plays UConn. 
If you want to see basketball in pure form, check it out. 
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Who knows if there is even enough time to enjoy college women’s basketball, though, with everything going on right now. 
We’ve got six girls wrestlers already qualified for the state wrestling championships and the area will add to that total with boys districts this weekend.
State wrestling promises to be crazy no matter how many kids we have competing. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. 
Aurora’s boys basketball team has two monumental games to round out the regular season, at Crete Thursday and hosting Omaha Skutt next week. Those are must watch, so enjoy this team while you can. 
Giltner and Hampton are set to renew their rivalry Friday night and those games, no matter how the season has gone so far, are can’t miss. 
If you’re lucky enough to run into me over the next couple weeks, I am surely on my way to or from a gym between home base and Omaha. 
Wrestling and basketball, we’ve hit the home stretch and it’s time to finish strong. There will be plenty of moments to write home about. 
RICHARD RHODEN can be reached at sports@hamilton.net.