Old Man Winter still has Varmint County firmly in his clutch, as the snow continues to pile up around flatiron peak and mud lake has been frozen over now for most of the past two months.
With little opportunity to get out and hunt or fish, many Varmint County males have turned to holding up one end of the bar down at the Dead Rat Tavern or one of the other half dozen watering holes hereabouts.
On Tuesday and Friday nights, however, most men, both those deep in their cups and those that are sober, can be found down at the Viper Pit, the local nickname for the Varmint County High School gymnasium.
Winter is also basketball time in Varmint County, and much of the population can be found packed into the gym twice a week to watch the boys team, under Coach B. O. Snodgrass, continue their dominance of District 3-AA. Equally exciting this year is the girls team, coached by Gabby Aslinger, that has finally recovered from the graduation of their 6'8" star Penny Haig.
After Penny graduated, the 2008-09 season was payback time for all of Varmint County's opponents, who piled it on the young Viperettes while Penny's baby sister Cloe, standing only 5'5", tried to learn how to hold her temper and shoot over double and triple team coverage.
This year has been a different story. Penny, back from playing pro ball in Italy, worked with Cloe all summer, teaching her the fundamentals and a bit of patience. They also worked out a plan to stop the other teams from ganging up on the diminutive Haig.
"You take the in-bounds pass and turn around and shoot it the length of the court. From that distance you'll only make about half your shots, but they will be three-pointers, so that's pretty good," Penny advised.
"What if three defenders come up and guard me on the in-bounds pass?" Cloe asked.
"Then they've only got two players covering the rest of the team. Sally Pyles can throw the ball in and she's got a strong arm. She can pass it way down the court to one of the other girls for an easy lay-up. It won't take 'em long to figure out that triple-teaming you is a mistake."
"One more thing, Sis." Penny added. "You won't do anyone any good sitting on the bench. Hold that temper in check. The best revenge for a hard foul is to make 'em pay by hitting your free throws, not a kick to the shin."
So little Cloe followed instructions. In the first game of the season against Burrville, Cloe took the first two in-bounds passes and fired off two threepoint shots while standing under her own goal. Next time, three Burrville players collapsed on the little gunner and Sally Pyles launched a long pass down the court to Camilla Snodgrass, who made a lay-up basket with not a Burrville defender within twenty feet of her.
By the time Burrville called a timeout, Varmint County was ahead 16-3, Cloe accounting for 12 of those points on 4 of 5 shooting from beyond midcourt. The one shot she missed was easily rebounded by her teammates, since Burrville had only two players anywhere near the basket.
Burrville then turned to some rough play. Their 6'1" point guard, towering over Cloe, decked her as soon as she touched the ball. Cloe made her three free throws. The next time, the Burrville guard cut the legs out from under Cloe and she hit the floor hard with the back of her head. A bit woozy, Cloe missed the first shot before making her next two free throws.
The next time Cloe touched the ball, the big Burrville center fell on her and the little sharpshooter came up swinging. Both benches emptied and it took the officials ten minutes to restore order. Cloe made her two free throws, then the Burrville center and guard made two of four shots on a double technical called against Cloe.
Sister Penny, up in the stands for this first game of the season before heading off to play for Central Appalachian State, just moaned, "It's no use. Cloe won't stand around and let them foul her all night."
"I might have an answer," Grandpa Elijah Haig announced as he got up and walked down to the Burrville bench.
"What is that man up to?" Elijah's wife Sally asked as Elijah bent over to whisper something to the Burrville coach.
"Papaw, what did you tell that coach? Penny asked when the old man got back to his seat. "I just told him that if his players kept it up and my granddaughter gets hurt, me and my boys will be waiting for him outside after the game," Elijah replied.
Needless to say, the rough play ended. Cloe's shooting cooled off a little bit in the second half, but Varmint County was so far ahead by then that it didn't matter. Final score: Vipers 83 Burrville 45. Cloe Haig accounted for an even 50 of the Varmint County points, hitting 13 three-point shots and eleven free throws.
As January ended, the Lady Vipers were still undefeated. Their only close game came against the Flat Creek Lady Vultures, who have a reputation for playing rough. Just as she did last year, Cloe got tossed out of the game within the first ten minutes, along with Sally Pyles. One of the Lady Vultures was also tossed but she was a benchwarmer, since the game was being played in Flat Creek. The Lady Vipers survived 52-50 on some spirited play from their own substitutes.
When Flat Creek traveled to Varmint County for their re-match at the Viper Pit, the entire town turned out for the game, not to mention a large portion of the population of Haig Hollow. Penny Haig was also in the stands. Penny, after surviving four years of rough and tumble basketball with Varmint County and a season of extremely physical ball in Europe, had kicked off her college career at Central Appalachian State by being injured on a freak accident in only the third game of her freshman season.
Penny got tangled in a pile-up under the goal with three other players and came out with a broken ankle. She spent the rest of the season on the bench, cheering on her teammates. While her team was on a two-week road trip, she stayed home to rehab her ankle and managed to catch a ride to Lower Primroy to watch baby sister play.
"Cloe, I don't care what they do to you out there, suck it up and don't get into a brawl. I came over here to watch you play, not get kicked out of the game in the first five minutes," Penny lectured.
The younger Haig did as instructed. Every time she touched the ball, one or more Flat Creek players swarmed her. She was kicked, shoved, pinched, thrown to the floor and fallen upon. Cloe held her temper in check, remembering her big sister's words, and the results were predictable.
Varmint County won the game 74-31. Cloe Haig scored 55 points but only hit one field goal all night. She did, however, set a record by hitting 52 out of 52 free throws and single-handedly fouled out all five Flat Creek starting players. The Lady Vultures ended the game with five girls on the court and one foul away from forfeiting the game due to lack of eligible players.
"I still don't like being bullied!" Cloe told her older sister over post-game milkshakes at Aunt Hattie's Burger Shack.
"I think you paid them back with interest," Penny chuckled, "But if you want a little more satisfaction, I can give it to you. You know their big center, that 6'2" girl Tiffany Tatum?"
"Yeah, the one that tripped me and then fell on me when I tried that shot at the end of the half."
"Well, she just unofficially committed to a college scholarship at Central Appalachian State next season. One of the reasons I got to come here tonight was to scout her for our coach."
"So you and Tiffany are going to be teammates next year?"
"Oh, more than teammates. I've been helping as an unpaid assistant coach this season since my injury. My coach wants me to continue doing that while playing next year. I get to coach the post players and supervise their workouts in practice."
"So... You're going to be in charge of Tiffany Tatum's practice and workout schedule?"
"Riiiiight." Penny purred.
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