The Crossover: Fourth Quarter–Overtime

by Kwame Alexander
Twin brothers Josh and Jordan Bell clash both on and off the basketball court. How high can you score on this list of words from Alexander's award-winning novel in verse?

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Warm Up, First Quarter, Second Quarter,
Third Quarter, Fourth Quarter–Overtime

Here are links to our lists for other books by Kwame Alexander: Booked, Solo, Rebound, Swing
15 words 346 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. coma
    a state of deep and often prolonged unconsciousness
    Your husband’s stable, but he is in a coma.
  2. symptom
    a sensation associated with a particular disease
    As in: The doctor sees me Googling
    the symptoms — coughing, sweating,
    vomiting, nosebleeds — and he says,
    You know we can't be sure what causes
    a myocardial infarction.
  3. genetics
    the study of heredity and variation in organisms
    I say, What about
    doughnuts and fried chicken and genetics?
  4. possession
    (sports) the act of controlling the ball (or puck)
    8:05
    Filthy, the game went
    double overtime
    before the last possession.
  5. dedicate
    address to or inscribe as a sign of honor or respect
    We dedicated the game ball
    to your pop.
  6. yam
    a type of sweet potato with deep orange flesh
    Aunts with collards and yams,
    cousins with hoots and hollers,
    and runny noses.
  7. righteous
    morally justified
    Well, it wasn't the right behavior, but
    the intention was righteous.
  8. tanka
    a Japanese verse form of 5 lines with 5 or 7 syllables
    Tanka for Language Arts Class

    This Christmas was not
    Merry, and I have not found
    joy in the new year
    with Dad in the hospital
    for nineteen days and counting.
  9. quiver
    shake with fast, tremulous movements
    The court is SIZZLING
    My sweat is DRIZZLING
    Stop all that quivering
    Cuz tonight I’m delivering
  10. massive
    imposing in scale or scope or degree or power
    After a complication,
    Bell died at St. Luke’s Hospital
    from a massive heart attack.
  11. hypertension
    a disorder in which blood pressure remains abnormally high
    According to reports,
    Bell suffered
    from hypertension
    and had three fainting spells
    in the four months
    before his collapse.
  12. autopsy
    an examination and dissection of a dead body
    Autopsy results found
    Bell had a large,
    extensively scarred heart.
  13. dazzling
    amazingly impressive
    Known for his dazzling crossover,
    Chuck Bell was the captain
    of the Italian team
    that won back-to-back Euroleague championships
    in the late nineties.
  14. inevitable
    incapable of being avoided or prevented
    Basketball Rule #10
    A loss is inevitable,
    like snow in winter.
  15. orb
    an object with a spherical shape
    By twenty-seven, I am making them
    with my eyes closed.
    The orange orb has wings
    like there’s an angel
    taking it to the hoop.
Created on Mon Aug 11 11:27:34 EDT 2025 (updated Mon Aug 11 12:02:07 EDT 2025)

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