Kristi House's decision to step down as head girls coach at her alma mater wasn't an easy one.
After all, for the most part, North Hall is all she's ever known, except for the two years she took off on maternity leave.
But if she had to draw up a full-court man-to-man press break in the huddle, with her team down by one with five seconds to go, what would it be?
House would go deep, with the baseball pass for the win, because that's what her career at North Hall has been -- a win.
She's won more than 200 games, guided the Lady Trojans to two Class 3A semifinals, two Lanierland titles and two region championships in her 12 seasons as head coach.
"I love basketball. I love North Hall," she said. "The kids here are great, the program is in great shape, with great players coming back next year, but it just seemed like the right time to step away."
Before her time as head coach, House was an assistant coach for North Hall legend Jean Foster -- she also played for Foster at North Hall. So, needless to say, she consulted with the North Hall legend before officially making the decision.
"She said when it feels right, you'll just know," House said about Foster. "She told me to just be confident in my decision and don't look back. She told me it'll be bittersweet, and it is, but I feel great about my decision, and I feel like the program is in great shape."
House also coached under Debbie Blake and Bryan Richardson before taking over the program in 2010.
As House takes time to figure out what's next in her future, she says she'll remain at North Hall through the end of the year, for now. Of course, there could be other opportunities that pop up over the next couple of months that lure her away.
"I love this place, and I always have, you know," she said. "If I get to stay, I'll be happy with that. But if I end up somewhere else, doing something else, then I'll cross that bridge. But I'll always love North Hall, and what it's done for me in my career.
"I would never even be talking to you if it weren't for coaches and teachers that I had when I was a student here, and the list just goes on and on of all the people from this place that poured into my life. So, being able to, for a while, give back has just been a blessing."
And now to the memories of a career spent in green and white ... House narrowed it down to a couple: No. 1 was beating Greater Atlanta for the Region 7-3A title in 2020, and No. 2 was knocking off Gainesville for the Lanierland title in 2019.
"Beating GAC for the region title has to be one," she said. "And just finally winning Lanierland, because the kids had wanted it for so long."
But more so than just coaching, or team accolades, are the personal stories of lessons learned and moments witnessed through the game of basketball. How those moments transcend the game of basketball often stick out like a missed layup.
For House, that moment happened in the locker room after the team's 52-31 loss to Beach at Valdosta State in the 2019 Class 3A semifinals.
Emma, who is the team's biggest cheerleader, has been a fixture on the North Hall bench over the years. House tells the story of how Emma is the epitome of the culture she has worked so hard to build at North Hall.
"After we lost and everybody was so upset and couldn't get it together, I look over, and Emma is helping one of our players take off her shoes," House said. "It made me go back to the love that we have always tried to create in our locker room, the care for one another. Just watching our players grow through those kinds of experiences that you don't even know is going to happen, are bigger than basketball."
