The Hail Mary moment was met with pure joy.

       As Kathleen Fitzpatrick — a third-grade teacher at Holy Trinity School in Georgetown — flung a basketball across the playground, her students jumped anxiously in anticipation. Then, as the ball sank through the hoop, they erupted in squeals of delight.

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       The students, who refer to Fitzpatrick as Ms. Fitz, weren’t just celebrating that their teacher impressively sunk a three-point shot across the court. There was something in it for them, too.

       Kathleen Fitzpatrick, a third-grade teacher and former college basketball player, made an impressive three-point shot and earned her students hot chocolate. (@htsgeorgetown via Storyful)

       She had promised her students that she would treat them all to hot chocolate if she managed to make the basket. So naturally, they were thrilled about the successful shot.

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       In an Instagram video posted on Dec. 20, the D.C. school called the cross-playground shot a “Hail Mary.” But for Fitzpatrick, it wasn’t just a lucky basket. As a former college basketball player, she had the skills to confidently make the shot.

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       Fitzpatrick, who is from Drexel Hill, Pa., played at Rutgers, as well as Saint Joseph’s, where she led the team in three-pointers in both the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 seasons.

       Although she has transitioned from the court to the classroom, Fitzpatrick clearly still knows how to play the game. Not only is the Internet amazed by her athletic aptitude, but people are also swooning over her students’ sweet reaction to the stellar shot. They said it was a much-needed salve, especially at a time when schools in D.C. and elsewhere are starting to go virtual again as coronavirus cases surge across the country.

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       “Teachers deserve a bazillion dollars a year. Also, Ms. Fitz has crazy range … ” tweeted Rex Chapman, a former professional basketball player, who played on four NBA teams.

       Rebecca Lobo, a basketball analyst, tweeted: “Watching this over and over, focusing on a different child’s reaction each time.”

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       Jeff Carlisle, a sports journalist at ESPN, simply wrote: “Timeline cleansed.”

       The school, for its part, is touched by the reaction to the viral video.

       “We are overwhelmed by the messages and comments we have received and feel blessed that Ms. Fitz gave us permission to share this video,” the school wrote in an Instagram post. Fitzpatrick’s spontaneous shot “brought a smile to so many people all over the world.”

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