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March 26, 2003
Saturday, March 22nd, 2003Today we have a game against Illinois. We started the day off early by going to a shoot-around at 8am. We are not a team of early people so that was tough. We all managed to get a nap afterwards so we were ready to play at 1:30pm. Liz Sahin is my roommate on the road and she is great to have around. We decide to go over to arena a little early to catch some of the game prior to ours. It was obvious that Tennessee was dominating the court, and we are hoping to do the same to Illinois today.
As I walked into the locker room Debbie pulled me aside and said I was going to start. It was somewhat a shock but then Brandi explained that she would like to come off the bench and it was understandable. Nerves played a part early in the game with some players, however we got off to a great start. I was feeling free and having a lot of fun. Plus I did not have to think a whole lot so my shot was falling and we were competing hard. In the second half we had a good run of scoring and got the lead, which we never lost. All in all it was a good win and much more positive than the previous two years when we lost in the first round. Now we had Tennessee in the next game! We spent the rest of the day resting up and I had to start doing some schoolwork that was due this week.
Sunday, March 23rd, 2003We slept in this morning until 10am! I actually got up a little early and ate with Audra and kids, and Tim and his kids. It was fun. We had plenty of down time today to refocus on the new goal-Tennessee. We are pretty positive about playing them, think we have a great chance of beating them and are learning their tendencies. Practice was focused on dealing with the Tennessee scouting report, shooting and some offense. It was an upbeat practice session.
We had some more downtime before dinner and then we got to go see a movie after dinner. It was great to get out of the hotel to do something that was fun and relaxing. We also had to stay up a little later because we were playing at a late time the next night 9:15pm.
Monday, March 24th, 2003Gameday! No doubt today’s game is the biggest of the season. We have to win it to advance and we are facing a team on their home floor. Overall the day went smoothly, it was beautiful weather and we were able to have a slow stroll along a small part of the Tennessee River.
Gametime! The game did not have a great outcome for us. It was amazing playing in those first few minutes; it was at a higher intensity level than the game against Illinois. It was a great game to play in because of the intensity being shown and the heart and hustle that our players showed. Tim told us at the end of the game if we played with that sort of hustle and heart in every game we will be a much higher seed next year for the tournament. Unfortunately for me, my shot was not falling this game, it is hard to fathom going from 7-13 shooting to 0-8, but it happens and consistency is something that I need to work on. As a team we did not shoot well either and that was our downfall in the end. Tennessee made their shots and we did not. It was a great learning experience for our team to take into next year.
Our seniors Karen and Liz have given our team a lot in the past two years and I want to recognize them for their commitment to the team. They are both awesome girls to be around and both have a wonderful sense of humor that comes out at a time that you least expect it. We will always love them and I will be feeling what they are feeling hopefully a little later next year!