What is is like to achieve girlhood dreams?

Once upon a time I thought I was the only girl that played basketball. Except for the few who played on TV every year in March--only the NCAA tournament's championship game was televised in those days--it was only the boys and me on the black top during lunch time and after school.

Since then I have found others who were just like me. Girls who grew up watching men play basketball all year and rarely got the chance to see what women could do. A new era has definitely arrived with the advent of two professional women's basketball leagues. Although I will finish my career in the amateur ranks, this has raised the visibility of the sport and increased the influence female athletes have as role models.

Still, the ultimate stage for women's basketball is the NCAA Tournament. Pro leagues don't change that. It has been my dream; it still is my goal.

The tournament means the fruition of decades of looking ahead and hoping, quietly practicing and competing in empty gyms and make-shift driveway basketball courts to someday get a chance to be part of history.

I got a chance to experience my childhood dream of playing in the National Tournament my sophomore year and the thrill is indescribable.

March Madness means packed stadiums, local and national media coverage and memories of being the 10-year old girl on the sidelines watching and not just dreaming, but hoping to get there someday too.

As a senior I am embarking on my final basketball season. This is it. There will not be a next time. Years and countless hours of practice and sweat come down to just a few more months, to only a few more games.

When the final buzzer rings much will be forgotten. Scores and statistics will be tucked away in record books to be ignored for eternity.

But the dreams, the dreams that I lived, the emotions and the rush of competing at the highest level on the biggest stage get to be savored and cherished forever (or as much of forever as I'll ever know.) That is why I play.

My senior compatriots and I have one more chance to live out our dreams. We will do whatever it takes to get there and we always have, but this time will be different. It is special because it is the last time we can make our dreams of girlhood a reality that we share.