Lynn Oberschimdt

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January 23, 2006

It’s been a busy week for the women’s basketball team. After enjoying an entire month of not having to deal with school, the dreaded day came last Wednesday that we once again had to begin classes. For some of us this will be last first day of classes….sad. Anyways, we had a strong week of practice in preparation for our first UAA road trip of the season.  We woke up early Thursday morning to get a practice in before we headed to the airport. Even our devoted practice squad sacrificed sleep to help us prepare for the big weekend that lay ahead.

We made it into the always lovely Rochester, got checked into the hotel, and then headed to the Olive Garden for dinner. After the long day of traveling everyone was so hungry that once we got seated there was an actual conversation about taking the left-over food off the table next to us. Needless to say we took the high road and waited for the food we actually ordered. After the coaches took a slight detour through the Krispy Kreme drive-thru we made it back to the hotel where an intense game of Catch Phrase took place. I found it difficult to suppress my competitive nature, and if an effort to win I stacked my team with the most solid Catch Phrase players on the team. Bugg you were sorely missed. Beth got the “special seat for her back” right next to me so that she would be on the opposing team. This turned out to be a wise decision as the things that were blurted out of her mouth usually can only be described as unbelievable….at least you still have basketball Beth. But the line of the night easily went to Coach Ciccone. After becoming a bit upset after learning that I intentionally seated him on the other team, his clues became a bit malicious…apparently, I have a heart of charcoal. But that wasn’t the worst of it…after the clue of anaconda was given, Coach Ciccone failed to use his filter and broke into a well-known yet mildly inappropriate song. When the game was over it was time for all us to get some sleep for the big day ahead.

In the morning we had breakfast and went to our shoot-around. We all got in our naps before heading to our pre-game meal and then our game. It was a very disappointing evening for the entire team. It was our first game without the entire team present and we did not adjust well. We started out slow and Rochester took advantage. They took a big lead and we were unable to recover from the large deficit. We all knew we did not play anywhere near our potential. We were all aware that we needed to learn from that loss and then put it behind us because we needed to prepare for our game against Carnegie Melon.

Two excellent movie choices by Coach P made the almost 5 hour drive to Pittsburg bearable. When we arrived we grabbed lunch and then headed straight to practice. The team worked really hard and had a great practice in preparation for our game the next day. After dinner with the men’s team and a few trips to CVS we retired to the hotel. About half the team gathered in my room to watch the Miss USA pageant on television. We turned into a contest to see who could pick the winner that would advance to the final round. In the end, no one won because no one could possibly foresee Miss Oklahoma winning the entire thing. I’m sure I’m not the only one still shaking my head about that one…really, Miss Oklahoma?

The next day we headed to gym to watch the guys play before our game. The gym and really the entire city of Pittsburg were filled with people in Steelers jerseys. It was painful to even be in that city on a game day. But we had a much bigger game to focus on.  From the tip we played with a great deal of energy and confidence. We showed glimpses of how spectacular our team can be. The team communicated and played hard. We ended up taking a first half lead which we only extended the second half. It was a solid win that we all hope we can build on. After the game it was time to get out of Pittsburg and head back to Atlanta so we could enjoy our day off before gearing up for our next two UAA opponents.
 

Lynn Oberschmidt is a senior from Cincinnati, OH She would love to answer e-mail questions from Emory recruits and fans.