As the Tamaqua High School basketball team took to the court to warm up for their game against Pine Grove, nine Army reservists gathered in a corner of the gym.

It would have taken an Army to stop Tamaqua's Bo Rottet, who would later score the 1,000th point of his career.But the servicemen and women weren't there for that. Instead, they had driven many miles to support their comrade, Army Staff Sgt. Amanda Kerr."They're my best friends," Kerr said."We've been deployed together, to various places, over the past 10 to 15 years."Kerr, who enlisted in the Army reserves just after graduating from Tamaqua Area High School in 1996, has served in Iraq, Kuwait and most recently spent a year in Afghanistan.During that year, she missed a full season of basketball games played by her son, Tamaqua sophomore Zeke Wassell, and Zeke had never seen any of her promotion ceremonies.Kerr's friends were there to participate in her promotion ceremony from staff sergeant to sergeant first class.Kerr's parents looked after Zeke while she was in Afghanistan. Kerr is the daughter of Ilona and the late Alan Kerr, who died in November. He was the tax collector for Tamaqua.The ceremony was delayed by a thrilling finish to the junior varsity game.Wassell hit a key 3-pointer during overtime, and his teammates Joe Berezwick, Thad Zuber and Dylan Scott hit game-sealing free throws. The squad won 46-43.After both teams finished their warmups, Kerr and other Army reservists solemnly marched to half-court. She then stepped forward, facing her mother, her son and Army reservist Paul Muzopappa.After she was officially promoted, the crowd burst into applause, then rose to their feet. They remained standing for the national anthem.Kerr, who serves in an engineering unit, said she plans to re-enlist for three more years of service, which will give her a total of 22 years."This will be the last time I'm promoted, and it was the first time my son saw it," she said. "I don't know who's prouder."