LET IT SNOW!!
Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008
Who needs sunny skies and sandy beaches on the island of Maui when snow is what's in season.
Well folks, its been a long time since my last blog, but I figured it was about time to give you an update on our second road trip of the season.
Day One: We left the rainy skies of Eugene (with our delicious treats in hand) on Thursday afternoon and arrived in sunny Salt Lake City three hours later. We loaded the bus for a 45-minute ride to Provo, Utah - home of the BYU Cougars, checked into the hotel and headed back out for practice.
The BYU men’s program is hosting a four-team tournament this weekend, so we weren’t able to practice inside the Marriott Center. Instead we waited patiently for a Jazzercise class to finish up and then took over room (gym) #134 at the Student Rec Center for about an hour-and a-half of drills.
I wasn’t blogging at my best I must I admit, instead of watching drills, I pulled out the trusty laptop and got to work on a baseball media guide, but my ears were still attentive, and on more than one occasion I heard Bev say “come to the ball” with some authority. I didn’t watch a whole lot, but it seemed like that phrase was the theme of the day.
Student manager Cody Johnson had to boot some onlookers out of the gym, but other than that it was pretty uneventful.
After practice Olive Garden was on the menu for dinner. I must say the freshmen are starting to get pretty comfortable now. There is no doubt that Amanda Johnson (AJ) has taken over Taylor Lilley for loudest and most recognizable laugh out of this group.
Day Two: It was an early morning wake up call for our 8 a.m. shootaround at the Marriott Center. I am happy to say we all made the bus on time.
Unfortunately a little later in the day the game didn’t go the way we had hoped.
Day Three: It was another early-morning wake up call as we left Provo at 6:45 a.m. for our 9 a.m. flight out of Salt Lake City. The team endured a three-hour layover in Denver, but it gave the players a chance to grab a bite to eat and catch up on homework.
We arrived in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, greeted by SNOW! Our first encounter with the white stuff this year.
The players were obviously excited (see photos below).
Taylor Lilley plans her first sneak attack.
AJ and Nia are even at 1-1 in their ongoing snowball battle. A sneaky Nia came up from behind to tag the freshman unexpectedly, but AJ showed off her arm and accuracy with a 15-foot throw that nailed Nia just before she reached the safety of baggage claim.
Nia snakes her way toward an unsuspecting AJ.
Nia makes her final approach before her attack on the defenseless freshman.
AJ just moments before she secures her revenge.
We bused it to Brookings and checked into our hotel before heading to Frost Arena for practice.
The ladies brought that same snowball-fight intensity to the gym. I can say that today was a very, competitive and intense run through, and I expect a tremendous effort and fight tomorrow here at Frost Arena.
Ellie Manou and AJ battled hard in the post for the yellow team, while Dee (yellow) and Mic (green) went opposite one another at the point.
South Dakota State enters this game 3-0 with wins over Missouri, Wisconsin and Utah.
The facility seats about 6,500 and rumor is it fills up pretty close to capacity on the weekend.
An empty Frost Arena.
As always Oregon fans in Eugene can listen to the action on KSCR 1320 AM, and fans out of the area can follow live stats on www.GoDucks.com or watch live video and audio on the O-Zone.
