Entry 5 -- Players Perspective of Paradise -- November 25, 2006

Nov. 25, 2006

ST. THOMAS, USVI - Editor's note: Since Terri was preoccupied with her niece pool-side, this entry will from Erin Monfre and Kelly Lam.

First of all, it has been so much fun down here. We really can't believe how beautiful St. Thomas is. The people here have been so accommodating and nice to us. We are really very lucky and so thankful of Marquette to be able to come down here and play in this great tournament. It is such a privilege to be able to see different parts of the world. It is definitely a lot different than Lake Michigan.

The one and only thing I (Kelly Lam) like down here are all of the iguanas. I am deathly afraid of iguanas and they are all over the place. They hang out in bunches. I almost didn't make it down the stairs to the dock to go snorkeling because of the all of the iguana's. Seriously, they are huge.

Anyways..... It's been really nice to have both of our families down here. Overall the fan support has been incredible. With all of the support the games are so much easier to play in because it feels like we have some one to play for. We really have a "home court advantage" down here. It's awesome! We are the envy of the other teams. They have brought so much energy from sending us off before each game and get on us when we need to rally. To hear them cheer us on against Auburn when it was tied late in the game helped us win, no doubt about it. Auburn had probably one or two fans cheering for them. Our boosters have a presence down here and it showed from the moment we arrived at the hotel.

While Terri has been preoccupied, the no dessert rule has basically gone out the window. My (Erin Monfre) mom's birthday was the other day and she had a huge delicious cake that we all needed to have a piece of. Also, the ice cream and Snickers bars are way too accessible in the deli at the hotel. We thought it was real funny when we were eating the cake coach yelled from six balconies up, "Is that birthday cake you are all eating?!?!" It was. At that point, there was really nothing she could do about it.

Another thing we never expected the open-aired buses. It caught us all off guard and was a bit scary at first because there isn't anything holding you in. No doors, windows or seat belts. You get used to it after the first ride though. It is a lot different than the busses we take to and from games back in the states. We learned quick to keep our limbs inside otherwise we might have lost them. The roads are so narrow and curvy, and they drive on the opposite side of the street. So much different than what we are used. Safety definitely isn't first.

That is about all the time we have today. It's game day and we have to go out there and bring the championship back to Marquette!