Hittin' The Hardwood with Roni Hicks... Semicircle
12/10/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Hittin' The Hardwood with Roni Hicks ...
WEDNESDAY, Dec.10 -- Semicircle
The past two weeks have been like a roller-coaster ride filled with many turns, drops, and dips. Last Tuesday, the team flew to the University of Southern California to face the Trojans. We were extremely excited as we rode the bus to the airport and stared at the Michigan snow, I could not help but get cheery thinking about the sunny and dry ground of California.
When we got to the runway I was unable to board because my University ID was insufficient identification to board the plane. That broke my heart, because I was unable to join my team. At that point, I was no longer thinking about the sun-- we could have been flying to Mars-- I just wanted to be with my teammates and compete. I have never had to miss a game and that, for sure, was an indescribable feeling, but I tried. The girls still marched on to the game and I listened and watched the gametracker. I could not concentrate on my homework at all.
Even though it was a rough trip for all of us, it helped us as a team. It was our worst lost of the season, but when we returned to practice everyone knew we had to shake it off. This is a long season and we have this schedule of non-conference play for a reason. We have played multiple top 25 teams this season, all from different conferences. These games are preparing us for Big Ten play, and if we can make it through this and the game situations that we face nowwe can make it through ANYTHING. So after visiting the Pac-10, we moved to the Big Ten/ACC challenge. Except that we had two ACC challenges back-to-back.
First, we faced North Carolina State, with the remarkable coach Kay Yow. Kay Yow is an inspiration to any womens basketball player. She has continued her fight as a coach even after being diagnosed with breast cancer. I have a lot of respect for her and what she does. But we still had a mission to compete and get a win for ourselves and the Big Ten. The NC State game was pretty high-energy and it is always great when we can play in Crisler. Our defense was good and we focused on rebounding more than anything. Getting that win showed resilience and our ability to bounce back, even after USC.
Sunday we had the pleasure of rolling down to Durham to face the Duke Blue Devils. We were able to catch the first half of the mens basketball game against Duke on Saturday, before we left. It was great to witness Crisler sellout to watch the guys play. The University of Michigan mens basketball team has undoubtedly proved they are a force to be reckoned with. Congratulations guys and keep it up!
Our experience against Duke was not as successful. We did not execute on offense and it ultimately cost us the game. Defensively, we kept them at bay and created turnovers. But when we needed to step up in the first five minutes of the second half and capitalize on single possessions, we turned it over. We have been battling to stay mentally and physically tough through this schedule. We are competing against some of the top teams in the country with one day preparation between each game so this is an ongoing learning process.
We all know that this is one of the best seasons we will experience. Even as a sophmore, I know that this year is special. With God, your prayers, and our hard work and determination we will bring this program full circle. Thank you for reading.
Until next time
Romans 5:3-4
Previous Editions of Hittin The Hardwood with Roni Hicks
