The Beginning!

In an effort to catch up on this blog, I’m writing three separate pieces. Each segment is devoted to one of the three parts of our season. “The Beginning” is devoted to our non-conference slate. I hope you enjoy!

We started the season with great potential and a lot to learn. We also put our team to the test with an ambitious schedule. Playing in the preseason WNIT was a great opportunity for us to learn what our strengths and weaknesses were and what combinations of players would work well together. Even though we only won one of the three games we played in the tournament, I thought the information we gathered by playing post-season veteran opponents was extremely beneficial to us. We started the season with a win over a well-coached St. Francis team who had gone to the NCAA tournament the year before. In our next game, we faced the talented Purdue Boilermakers on the road.  Despite the loss, I was very proud of our team for playing Purdue to the wire in front of 8,000 fans in a hostile Mackey Arena. Unfortunately, we came home and lost to a tough and talented Missouri State team. That game taught us the importance of defense. We lost key people on their team at costly times. It was also hard to swallow as it was only our fourth loss at home in the past three years.

It is interesting to note we started out the season 1-4 before we caught stride. Our New York trip was very memorable. We won two games in the Iona Classic and watched Lecretia Smith be named MVP and Melissa Goodall be selected to the All-Classic Team. We closed out the trip with a win at St. Peter’s putting forth a terrific defensive effort, holding the Peahens to just eight first-half points. We also squeezed in the play “Chicago” and a tour of New York City, which included a trip to the top of the Empire State Building. We also managed a trip to a kosher restaurant so that Naama could enjoy some fresh food and our team could experience something new. We had a good laugh as Janelle Reed-Lewis asked the waitress where the cheese was on our sandwich! We have all had the benefit through the years of learning that Naama cannot eat meat and cheese in the same meal. It was fun watching our team hail cabs, soak in the sites and experience a few hours of fun as we explored the city. We closed out our non-conference schedule winning four out of our last five to gain some momentum heading into MAC play. Beating Indiana at home was one of the highlights of the non-conference schedule as it showed our team’s perseverance. We fought tooth and nail after spotting the Hoosiers a double-digit lead to win by four. We finished the non-conference knowing we had depth, talent and great potential, but  also knowing that we had to stay focused in order to make our dreams a reality.

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