Freshman plays on Warriors home court during halftime

Standing 5 feet from the Golden State Warriors’ bench on during their Oct. 21 vs. the Portland Trailblazer, freshman Anika Prasad felt ecstatic. Cheers from her team and the 20,000 fans in the arena pumped her adrenaline as she dribbled the ball down the same court as one of the Bay Area’s favorite teams.

During one of her practices for her AAU club team, called the Torch, Prasad’s coach announced that their team was invited to play a 6- to 8-minute exhibition against the Peninsula Elite .

Prasad has been playing basketball since she was in third grade and is on the school’s JV basketball team. Outside of school, she has played on the AAU team, Torch Basketball in Menlo Park, for three years.

“To me, playing on the Warriors court is the last thing I would expect, I was completely taken by surprise,” Prasad said. “Everyone on my team was just really excited and happy about getting a chance to play in front of so many people.”

Prasad admits they did not practice much for the game because their intention was to have fun. Their coach emphasized that they were playing to simply for a memorable experience.

“The crowd was really into it,” she said. “I think our team got a glimpse of the possible future: If you work hard and play hard, you could be playing on a court and to a crowd like this every day.”

Although the teams did not keep score, Prasad is confident that her team won during the 8-minute game.

After the halftime game ended, she was greeted with congratulations from her family and was able to finish watching the game, which the Warriors won 107-96.

“Overall, I am still in disbelief that I got to play where the Warriors do,” Prasad said. “I think it’s really incredible that I got to take a part in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity surrounded by my friends and family.”