David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants

inbounds pass. They run back to their
own end. Redwood City did not do that.
Each girl on the team closely shadowed
her counterpart. When some teams play
the press, the defender plays behind the
offensive player she’s guarding in order
to impede her once she catches the ball.
The Redwood City girls, by contrast,
played a more aggressive, high-risk
strategy. They positioned themselves in
front of their opponents to prevent them
from catching the inbounds pass in the
first place. And they didn’t have anyone
guard the player throwing the ball in.
Why bother? Ranadivé used that extra
player as a floater who could serve as a
second defender against the other team’s