Marquette University Athletics
The Trip for the Conference Tournament
3/9/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
We spent the last five days in Texas at our conference tournament. As I'm sure you all already know, we made it to the semi-finals where we played Houston. We lost, in a dog fight of a game, but we came home happy. We came home happy because we know we played well in those three games, but more importantly, we still have some playing yet to do! It was also a happy trip because we beat DePaul in the second round, the second time we beat them in five days. A lot was accomplished on this trip, and I will do my best to point out the highlights.
The first accomplishment: Terri received her 150th win against DePaul. Carolyn and Kelly got the creative idea to get some kind of present for her that she can keep in her office. Since we were in Texas, what better of a gift than a cowboy hat? We got her a white hat, wrote "150 Wins" on the front, and we all signed the brim of the hat. An added touch: Carolyn and Kelly found a copper sherrif's badge, shaped as a star, and printed "T Mitch" in the middle of it. This was pinned to the back of the hat. We know she will proudly display this in her office!
The second accomplishment: We now know how to get out of court sprints in practice. All you have to do is say, "I'm (fill in your name here). I'm from (fill in your hometown here), and I play for Marquette University." Okay, I realize this makes just about no sense to any of you, but you will all understand if you see the movie Miracle. The first night we were down there, the coaches treated us to this movie. I highly recommend it to everyone. We had the whole theater to ourselves, and this allowed for all of us to cheer and boo at our favorite or least favorite parts.
The third accomplishment: Jill got to ride a bull. Sure it may have only been a mechanical bull, but she still rode it like a champ! Unfortunately none of the players were allowed to ride, Terri said no to this idea. We got to watch Jill ride the bull in the Stockyards, which is an old town that is a tourist site today. There were livestock animals to see, shopping to do, and Texas-style steak and burger meals to eat. We spent the afternoon on Sunday at the Stockyards, which gave us a real taste of what traditional Texas lifestyle is like.
The fourth accomplishment: We've earned ourselves a selection show party this Sunday! With making it to the semis of the tournament, we have a solid chance of getting an at-large bid to the big dance. This is an accomplishment that means so much to all of us ... no surprise. It is a pre-season goal that we set for ourselves, and in only a few more days we will experience it.
This week is spring break, which means no class, just basketball. We have one week to prepare ourselves for what comes next. Next time I write, I should have a lot more exciting things to say!
This is the 16th in a series of diary entries by junior forward Monica Frede. Her diary will appear every Tuesday on www.gomarquette.com.
