When we’re down by a point with 20 seconds remaining in a game, one time-out left, and the other team has the ball, we’re pressing. If we force the turnover, we immediately call time-out.

(Co-head coach and husband) Bill and I give the kids probably 10-15 seconds to get back to the bench, get their water, kind of settle down. Because of the tension of the game, and with music blaring and the crowd going nuts, there needs to be a sense of calmness in the huddle.

Part of the calmness has to come from our voices. So we might say, "You know what, 20 seconds is a long time. Don’t feel like you have to catch and take the first shot. Take a good shot."

Besides creating a sense of calmness in the huddle, the kids need a sense of confidence from us. We let them know we know they can do this. And confidence will come from the players that are going on to the floor, having been in that situation before.

Because things are really hectic, we also need to make sure the kids understand what we’re trying to do, so we try to keep the time-out very, very simple. We want to make sure they know what play we want run and who they’re looking for. But we first have to give them the play to inbound the ball.

We call a specific play so the kids know what offense to run and who to look for because in that situation, there are certain players who will step up, players who want the ball. Sometimes the game will dictate who to go to, but generally speaking, it’s kind of something you’ve learned over the course of the season.

If the defense makes a great play so we can’t get that person the ball, then we’ll always have a second or third option to go to. What’s important is that we need a score, so we need to take the first best shot we can get.

The players also have to be aware that with 20 seconds to go, our first choice is our first option. We want to take the shot within five or six seconds of inbounding the ball. But if we don’t get that option, the kids have to understand that we need to take a shot with no less than seven or six seconds left on the game clock because if we miss, we still have the opportunity to get an offensive rebound and put the ball up again.

We remind the players that in order to make this happen, they have to stay alert, and when the shot goes up, we’re hitting the boards because, if we miss, there’s no follow-up shot without a rebound. This is very important because a lot of times defensive teams will forget to block out in these situations or there’s a rotation to help on some kind of dribble penetration. So we want to make sure the players understand—shot goes up, hit the boards.

On top of all this, the players need to know that if we don’t get the rebound in this situation, we need to foul right away to stop the clock.

For me, personally, when all this is going on, I’m so focused on what’s happening on the court that I don’t even pay attention to anything around me. I can’t tell what song is being played or what cheers are going on. I just don’t hear it. I hear the noise, but I’m so focused on the situation and the play that I just kind of tune everything else out.

When the buzzer goes off, ending the time-out, the players get up out of their chairs and walk on to the court. I’ll watch and make sure they’re going to the right spots, that they know where they need to be, and if I need to make any adjustments. But I try not to fill their heads with too much stuff because sometimes you can say too much and they don’t hear anything.

At this point, we’re ready to inbound the ball.

I love these moments. It’s kind of what it’s about. Your adrenaline’s going, you’re pumped, and it’s coming down to this one play. And that’s why you play—to compete, to win and lose. That’s where all the excitement is. And that’s . . . I love moments like that.

Mary Hile-Nepfel is co-head coach of the women’s basketball team at the University of San Francisco.