My favorite Union little big play of the night for 1/31

Note: My continuing series of notes, trying to pick an interesting play from a basketball game that was not necessarily a game-deciding play.

What a rebound, and oh, even a better shot: We all knew Jessica Chatman has moves when she has the ball in her hands. We saw that she also has moves in an effort to get the ball.

Chatman, a 6-foot junior who has already accepted an offer from Brigham Young University, had two big plays in one for quite the highlight Thursday against Skyview.

A missed 3-pointer allowed for a long rebound, but Chatman did not appear to be in the right position. If she had used her height and jumped over her opponent, it’s possible she would have been called for a foul. So instead, she slipped off to the side of her opponent, jumped, and tipped the rebound in the direction her body was headed. She grabbed the ball, but her momentum was taking her from under the basket to out of bounds.

No problem. She tossed the ball at a tough angle high off the glass, and it settled into the hoop. That made it 23-20 with three minutes to play in the second quarter.

No accident: Proof that this was no fluke, Chatman made a similar shot in the second half. Again, she appeared to be too far under the basket, with no real good angle for a “normal” lay-up. So she went real high off the glass again. Two more points.

Chatman knows all the angles.

Again? Union ended up losing a tough contest, which gave Skyview the 4A GSHL title. Chatman finished with 26 points, though, and she is confident that her team can beat the Storm if they get another chance.

A third matchup this season looks likely. These have been the best two teams in the league all season. If Union can win its district tournament game next Friday, the Titans will play Skyview in the district title game the following night.