March 15, 2010
My teammates and I are officially finished with basketball for the 2009-10 season. We spent the entire last week together in Sioux City, Iowa at the national tournament.
The week started at 3:30 a.m. Monday morning as we left Cedarville for the airport. Random fact, with a coach who used to be in the military, we always leave ridiculously early in the morning.
Then, on Tuesday, we enjoyed a busy day of service while at nationals. In the morning, we went to the Tyson Arena, which is where we played all of our games, and helped with the Special Olympics. All of the teams were there and played basketball with the kids who were involved with the Special Olympics of Iowa.
After the Special Olympics, our team put on a worship ceremony before the banquet. We invited all the teams to come worship with us and about 6 or 7 teams came! It was an awesome time of fellowship with the women we would be playing against. The theme of the evening banquet was "Bling" and we enjoyed a wonderful meal with the other 31 teams at the tournament.
We still had another day to wait to play, so Wednesday consisted of practice, eating, and watching lots of basketball games. Finally, the day to play came and my teammates were very ready.
Thursday was the day that we played Taylor University. Before the game, everyone was very confident because we knew we could win, and we did. It was one of the better games that we played this season. After we won, people around the area were beginning to think maybe we could make a run for the championship.
Those thoughts continued into Friday when we competed against Briar Cliff University. When we began the game, we believed that we could beat Briar Cliff, but they came ready to play and ended up with the victory. Since it was the seniors’ last game, we all sat in the locker room and reminisced after the game. Lots of tears were shed and lots of smiles were shared as we remembered the past seasons.
Since we lost earlier than we had expected, we were faced with the dilemma of how we would get home. It was decided that a group of people would drive home Saturday. They left at noon and got home at 4 in the morning after losing two hours due to daylight savings and the time zone difference. As for the rest of us, we spent the next few days eating, eating, watching movies, swimming, having a church service, and eating.
All in all, this was a great season filled with many highlights. As we end this season, we are all sad to see Ali, Lace, and Utzy leave, but are excited to see God’s plan for their lives. Thanks for all your support throughout the season; we appreciated it so much! Until next season, we will continue to try to live our lives for His glory!
March 8, 2010
And, we’re off to Sioux City, Iowa to compete in the NAIA Division II National Tournament. This past week was one of rest for the first part, and then a week of preparing for nationals. As a team, we are ready for the challenge of accomplishing our goal - winning the whole tournament! It is going to take a lot of focus, hard work, commitment, and teamwork, but my teammates are ready to hopefully make everyone proud.
As always, we thank you for your support and REALLY need lots of prayer this week. First and foremost, that everything we do there will give glory to God and that He will provide numerous opportunities for us to use the platform of basketball for His glory.
Second, please pray for us on the court. To win the tournament, you have to win five games, which is very hard to do in less than one week. Please pray for renewed strength and energy every day.
Third, please pray for our academics. It is a very stressful time in a college student’s life to miss possibly two weeks of school, so a lot of prayer in this area would be great.
Finally, just pray that we have fun, and in the process make God smile as we try to do everything for His glory!
March 1, 2010
Spring Break is here for my teammates and I. Sadly; the break comes under less than desirable circumstances.
This past Saturday, we began play in the conference tournament against Daemen. Prior to the game, we had never lost to Daemen. But, Daemen knew that in order to get to the national tournament, they would have to beat us and win the conference tournament.
After Saturday’s game, they are well on their way to achieving their goal. Although we were up for most the first half, Daemen played a phenomenal game and walked out of our gym with the win and their heads held very high.
With that loss, we were officially on Spring Break and don’t have to be back for practice until Thursday. Obviously, everyone would have much rather won Saturday and continued play on Tuesday, but that isn’t what happened so we are very thankful for a much-needed break.
This week we will be preparing for our trip to Iowa for the national tournament. We will fly out early Monday morning and will be there until we either win the whole thing or lose, but that isn’t going to happen!
In preparation for the tournament, we ask for your prayers in several areas. First, academically it will be very tough to be gone for at least a week and possibly two. Please pray that we can be diligent in our school work while still enjoying our time with our teammates. Also, please pray that the Lord will give us opportunity after opportunity to share His gospel with people using the platform of basketball.
Thanks again for your support this whole season. As the season wraps up, we will continue to play to the best of our ability and do everything for His glory!
Feb. 22, 2010
This past week was the last week of regular season play. We began the week by playing Northwestern of Ohio on Senior Night. One point deserving special emphasis is Ali’s triple double that evening. In case you are not that familiar with basketball, a triple double is a huge deal. What a great accomplishment for a well-deserving player!
Thursday night we traveled to Cleveland to play Ursuline. Prior to the game, we stopped by the beautiful residence of former teammate Bayley Nosal. As usual, the food was scrumptious and we all enjoyed spending time with the lovable Nosal family.
Adequately fueled for the game, we took the floor the first half with a less than stellar attempt. After a motivational half time, my teammates took the court the second half with a renewed fervor and claimed the outright AMC title.
Finally, on Saturday, we completed regular season play against rival Shawnee State. Sadly, we lost by a significant amount, but it was a great learning experience for everyone. Losing before heading out to the national tournament gives everyone a fire to work their hardest every day and not allow a loss to happen again.
With that said, we are frustrated by the loss, but ready to practice hard to get better at the things we need to work on so hopefully we can ultimately bring home the national title!
It has been two years since the last one, but my team brought home the title of AMC champs this year, and I am so proud of them. The hard work and dedication that have to happen to make a conference championship in college possible is unbelievable.
Coach Martin always tells us to work harder than everyone else so that you feel like you deserve to win. My teammates have worked so hard all season and are now being rewarded with not only the conference title, but also a ticket to the national tournament!
After enjoying spring break on campus, we will leave Ohio and take Jesus to Iowa by using our gifts for His glory there.
Feb. 15, 2010
After weeks of seemingly unending classes, this past week Cedarville University shut down for half the day on Tuesday and the whole day on Wednesday! This was a great time for everyone on campus to either relax with friends or get ahead (or catch up) on homework. Sadly, I fell into the category of not even looking at my homework, but enjoyed just relaxing.
One downfall of the snow bliss was the cancellation of our game to Ursuline. It is bad enough to miss a game, let alone the game where we were going to visit our former teammate Bayley Nosal at her home.
While Bayley was here, we were treated to unbelievable food each season graciously prepared by her mother. Even though Bayley has graduated, her family still offers to make us a wonderful meal when we travel to Cleveland. Before you start feeling bad that we missed out on this opportunity, we have rescheduled the game AND the food for this Thursday.
As always in life, reality sat in again on Thursday when we resumed class and competed against Shawnee State. I have been involved with Lady Jacket basketball since I was a freshman in high school and even then, Shawnee State has been the team we want to beat.
Since my freshman year, our team has not beat Shawnee State, so it was our time. And we did just that Thursday as we beat the number seven team in the nation! Not only did we win, we never trailed the entire game! It was a game where my teammates executed a game plan wonderfully and played with joy.
However, in college, celebration is short lived because there is always the next game to prepare for. Mount Vernon visited us at home on Saturday to try to maintain their seven-game winning streak (the last time they lost was to us!) During the first half, the game was very close and both teams exchanged the lead several times. Determined to prove their number three rating, my team took the court with confidence the second half and sealed the game by a 23-point margin.
With both games this previous week, we locked into first place in our conference for yet another week. As for this week, senior night is Tuesday, and American Mideast Conference play ends Saturday. If we finish this week the way we have been playing, we will earn a spot at the NAIA Nationals in Iowa!
Here’s where you come in, please pray for our legs this week as my teammates have reached the point in the season where fatigue sets in easily due to all of the games. Also, pray that we will have the opportunities to share Christ with our opponents. Finally, please pray that WHEN we make it to nationals, God begins to prepare our hearts and the people out there and for opportunities to use our gifts for His glory!
Feb. 8, 2010
Another week has come for the Lady Jackets, and this past week was another successful week. We began by making the short trip to Wilberforce on Tuesday night. Every time we play at Wilberforce, we remember the game two years ago where Wilberforce pulled off the major upset and beat us.
Needless to say, we never want to relive the painful memories, but we try to use them to help us play better. Although the game this past Tuesday was by no means pretty (it never is at Wilberforce), the ladies still managed to walk out of the gym with the win.
This time of year, everyone is very tired from the academic load and the constant schedule of basketball games, so sometimes our coaches graciously give us a day off. Last Wednesday, Coach Martin allowed us to take the day off and just rest, which was very much appreciated.
Every week we have some sort of Bible study as team, whether that is studying Ephesians with Coach Clark, a player’s prayer session, or some sort of ministry. Since we had the day off, we moved the time up for Bible study and enjoyed studying Ephesians 3 as a team. One of my favorite parts of being on this team is the automatic connection of all my teammates having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and then growing together in our love for the Lord!
Finally, on Saturday, we played Notre Dame on our home court. Coach Martin always stresses to us the importance of "taking care of business" at home and always winning at home. When Notre Dame came to play us, they had a lot riding on the outcome of the game, which is why they made the trek through the hazardous conditions.
Instead of bending to the pressure we knew Notre Dame would bring, my teammates took the court and just played basketball. One of the highlights of the game was with a few minutes left. Coach Martin had already pulled the starters, but then asked Aubrey to go back into the game. All of us on the bench were incredibly confused and wondering what Coach was doing. To make matters worse, he was screaming for Aubrey to shoot on both possessions she was in.
After she had successfully scored four more points, Coach promptly called a timeout, pointed at the scorer’s table and they announced that Aubrey had just scored her 1,000th point! Congrats to Aubrey on a fine accomplishment for a hardworking player who is crucial to the team’s success!
It’s funny how experiences open our eyes to different aspects of life. Since I have been injured, my eyes have been opened to the pain people experience with injuries and the frustrations brought by not being able to play. While playing Notre Dame, one of their best players left the game due to a shoulder injury. The pain must have been pretty significant because after the game she was still in a lot of pain and crying.
I would just ask that as you all pray for my teammates and I, you would include this player and the other players we play against in your prayers, and that God would use us as instruments in their lives. Also, please pray for our focus and effort to remain strong this week as we travel to Ursuline on Tuesday, stay at home on Thursday and Saturday and play Shawnee State and Mount Vernon, respectively.
Thanks again for all your support. We are always striving to play our best and for His glory, and the fans play a huge role in that!
Feb. 1, 2010
Wow! This past week was a great week for Lady Jacket basketball. The highlight was Tuesday’s game against Walsh.
For the past couple of years, Walsh has been one of those teams we dread, yet love playing because they are always great competition. Earlier this season we lost to Walsh in overtime due to foul trouble. Determined not to experience defeat again and hold onto our first place position in the conference, my teammates came out with a vengeance and focus that led to the defeat of Walsh.
I think everyone in the gym was shocked at just how well my teammates played. Not only did we win, but we won by 27 points. Tuesday’s game was a huge morale booster and proved to everyone, including ourselves, just how good we really are.
On Thursday we traveled to the University of Northwestern Ohio to compete against a team that is very good at home. Although the game was nowhere as pleasant to watch as the game against Walsh, we got on the bus with another win under our belts.
Then on Saturday we traveled to Pittsburgh to play at Point Park. Well, we didn’t actually play at Point Park because they don’t have their own gym, so we played at a local community college. Before the game, Coach Martin told us the game would come down to heart because both teams were exhausted from the number of games they had played.
During the game, we realized it was heart that we needed because we just needed to get through the game. When the final seconds ticked off the scoreboard, we were all very relieved to have won because it was not a pretty game by any stretch of the imagination.
We are very grateful to be sitting where we are right now in our conference, but realize we have to bring our "A" game every night. This Tuesday we travel to Wilberforce and then play at home on Saturday against Notre Dame.
Saturday is Alumni Weekend which is a great time for my teammates and I to see women who were in our shoes not too long ago, and see where they are now. The women who will be coming Saturday were the forerunners to who the Lady Jackets are today-athletically and spiritually. It will be a huge encouragement to see how the lessons learned from a team that loves Jesus carries over into the real world.
We are so thankful for all the support all the fans give us, and we are eternally grateful to our Heavenly Father who graciously gave us these gifts to use for His glory.
Jan. 25, 2010
For my teammates, this past week was very long and tiring. To really understand what it means to be a collegiate athlete, you have to understand bus rides.
Let me paint a picture for you: you are a tired student who has been in class all week long, and then you have to get on a bus for who knows how long. These trips can range anywhere from 15 minutes to 8 hours one way!
While on the bus, you have a few options what to do. Being a student, you really should do homework, but that is easier said than done. You could always watch whatever movie is playing, but most of the time the movies are gender specific. But, that didn’t stop the guys’ team from LOVING it when we played Twilight for them. All the guys chose whether they were Team Jacob or Team Edward and cheered for their boy.
Or, the final option on the bus is to sleep. Now, I forgot to mention that you are on a 55 passenger bus with lots of people, many of whom are over 6 feet tall. This fact makes sleep difficult since you are crammed into a seat with one of your teammates.
On the other hand, the bus ride allows for strengthening of relationships. Bus rides give teammates much needed time to talk to each other. They also allow for the different sexes to get to know each other a little better.
And, one of the favorites is during conference play. As we near the school on our return trip, the guys’ team treats us to a very loud series of war cries. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be woken up after midnight by war cries?
All this to say, getting on a bus to go to New York and be expected to play well the next day is easier said than done. But, my teammates did just that. Despite the less than desirable circumstances, they got on the bus to come home with a victory after beating Roberts Wesleyan.
Prior to beating Roberts, we traveled to Mount Vernon Nazarene to take on the Cougars. Mount Vernon is traditionally a good team, so we knew we had to bring our "A" game. Well, we definitely brought our "A" game defensively the first half, but we forgot the need to score points. When we went into the locker room, we only had 23 points, but the Cougars only had 28 points.
We knew we had to keep the same defensive intensity, but had to step it up on offense. It was so fun watching my teammates pull themselves together and play some of the best basketball I have seen them play in my three years here! Tuesday night, my teammates exemplified the meaning of teamwork and won as a result of it.
As we look forward to this week’s action, we are faced with yet another week of hard games. Tuesday, we get to stay home and play Walsh. Then on Thursday we travel to Northwestern Ohio, and finally on Saturday we get on another bus and go to Point Park. At this point in the season, one loss can severely affect post season play, so we really can’t afford to lose.
Thanks for all your prayers and support. We couldn’t do what we do without everyone who supports us. More importantly, we couldn’t do anything we do without our Heavenly Father, that is why we try to do everything for His glory!
Jan. 18, 2010
After a very close call on Saturday, I can proudly say that the Lady Jackets are 15-3 overall and 6-1 in our conference. In a league where anything can happen on any given night, we are very happy to have only one loss. Currently, we are tied with Walsh for first place after Shawnee State lost two games last week. All this to say, we have a long, hard road ahead of us, but for right now things look pretty good.
This past week we played against Daemen on Friday and Houghton on Saturday. Friday night proved to be an easier challenge than Saturday as we won by 18. One of the biggest successes of the evening was the fact that we out rebounded the number one defensive rebounding team in the nation by 19! As a team, one of our main focuses for every game is beating the other team on the boards, and we succeeded!
The following afternoon, we competed against Houghton who was 5-2 in the AMC. At the beginning of the game, we seemed to have the game under control. However, with a few minutes left, Houghton obtained their only lead of the game. The ironic part is, last year the tables were reversed.
For the majority of the game, Houghton had the lead; then, with a few minutes remaining, we rallied and controlled the game. The difference between the two years is Houghton didn’t clinch the victory in the final minutes after an impressive comeback. Although it seemed we tried to give them the victory, they didn’t accept and we walked away with the victory still shaking from the final minutes.
As we look forward to this week, we realize that our work never really stops. On Tuesday we will travel to Mt. Vernon and on Saturday to Roberts Wesleyan to try to remain in the number one spot in the AMC.
As always, we covet your prayers for our lives on and off the court! We all have our own issues that we have to leave at the door everyday when we step on the court, and as you can imagine that makes focusing difficult. But, we serve a big God who loves us and is evident in all our lives.
I love watching my teammates grow closer in their walk with God, love each other in the easy and the hard times, and love watching God meet our needs. That’s why we try to do everything for His glory!
Jan. 11, 2010
It is so exciting to start a new year academically. As we begin with clean slates in the classroom, we continue to build to our success on the court. This past week was a very successful one for us concerning basketball.
Play began on Friday night when we competed against Ursuline. Despite the weather conditions, Ursuline decided to come and compete.
In addition to the weather, one of the most random things I have ever experienced at a basketball game occurred Friday night. While we were in the locker room for half time, the fire alarm went off. As I am sure you can imagine, that was a very distracting occurrence. Then, once the second half started, the fire alarm sounded again, so the game was paused temporarily.
Once the fire alarm issue was resolved, the game commenced and the Lady Jackets notched another victory. As a team, the ladies played very well with each player scoring at least 5 points. It is so cool seeing every member on your team score and watch everyone get excited when each member scores!
Then, on Saturday, we played against AMC opponent Carlow. Although Carlow scored first, we controlled the score board for the rest of the game after scoring 21 unanswered points. One of our focuses regarding stats this year is to keep the turnovers down. Saturday night, my teammates did an excellent job of keeping the turnovers to just nine! How encouraging it was to add yet another victory to our record.
Currently we are 13-3 overall, and 4-1 in conference. While we are sitting in a comfortable position as of right now, we have a long, hard schedule ahead of us where we will take on the rest of the AMC. As always, we are striving to have God be first in our lives, and will continue to try to bring Him glory in everything!
Jan. 4, 2010
This past week the Lady Jackets flew south for a holiday tournament in Florida. Prior to this trip, teams in the past have gone 50-50 on holiday trips, but this time we broke that streak and won both games. We began by beating the host team, Northwood, and finished by beating Point Park. As a team, it was refreshing to win two, especially after a tradition of half and half trips.
Although holiday tournaments are good experience on the court, the real value is off the court. Every year, the team has the opportunity to spend quality bonding time together that you just don’t get back at school.
This year, the team did a lot of relaxing which is very necessary to recuperate from a hard semester. One of the favorite things to do is to go to the beach. This year, while Coach Martin was sleeping on the beach, Aubrey threw bread crumbs all around him allowing the seagulls to attack! This is just a glimpse of what my teammates are really like.
For New Year’s Eve, the Lady Jackets joined the men’s team at Mike Mapple’s house where they enjoyed rare, yet quality bonding time. They came back exhausted but said they enjoyed the trip!
As for me, I don’t really know the specifics of the trip because I didn’t end up going. All along I had planned on dealing with the pain just to spend the time with my teammates. But, God had a different plan.
One day I decided it wasn’t worth it, which was a good decision because on Christmas Eve my grandpa died. Being on a team is something that unless you have experienced it, you just can’t grasp how special it is. My team showered me with love through texts and I can’t tell you how encouraging it was. Thanks for all the prayers about my knee, it is healing as well as can be expected which is a total God send.
Thanks again for all your support of the team! We really appreciate it. As a team, we are looking forward to accomplishing our many goals this year. But, as always we are going to strive to be like Christ more and more every day and do everything for His glory!
Dec. 21, 2009
This blog is going to be somewhat difficult for me to write because I wasn’t with the team that much this past week (because of knee surgery), but I will try my best.
The week started off with the Lady Jackets playing Saint Francis (Indiana). From what my teammates and coaches texted me after the game, it was a close game but we were very excited to walk out with a win.
On Thursday, the Lady Jackets played Urbana whom they had previously beaten. As a team, it is very hard to go from a very structured life to break and still come focused to play. No one really knows, but it was just a flat game. The ladies worked hard, but Urbana came up the victory.
Finally, on Saturday, my team competed against Madonna University. At the beginning of the game, it seemed much closer, but the team pulled together and played well. We will go into Christmas break with a 9-3 record with only one conference loss.
As far as the rest of the week, the team spent a lot of quality time together despite several sick players. They were treated to dinner and a movie, a party at Ali’s, a Christmas party at Olive Garden, and time just to relax without the pressures of school. After the game Saturday, everyone headed home to be with their much missed families.
Looking forward to Christmas, I would just like to encourage everyone to really count your blessings. We say after every game, "For His glory," but in reality, our whole lives should scream that.
It is my hope that this Christmas we all see the miracle in the Creator God here with us on earth.
Merry Christmas and God bless!
Dec. 7, 2009
After our first week of conference play, we are looking forward to having a week off without any games. This past week we began our quest to be AMC champions as we took on Walsh, Wilberforce, and Malone.
On Tuesday, we traveled the three hours up to Canton, Ohio where we suffered a heartbreaking loss to Walsh. Going into the game, we knew that Walsh was good, but thought we were ready. Walsh had one big thing going for them.....they were home and it was pack the gym night.
As we began the game, the Walsh fans were ready to cheer their team to a victory. After being down for part of the game, we pulled back and were up three with several seconds left. Walsh tied the game on a last second, contested three. At the end of the game, the difference was the foul category. Three starters fouled out, while Walsh didn’t have anyone foul out. Despite the loss, the ladies played well and hung together as a team.
Then on Thursday, we played at home for the first time in awhile against neighboring rival Wilberforce. Wilberforce came into the game with just seven players, which was to their huge disadvantage. Our game plan was to run, and that is what we did. As a team, we rebounded really well and looked for the "extra pass" which resulted in 28 assists. All in all, it was a game that was won with really good teamwork.
Finally, on Saturday, we traveled back up to Canton to play Malone University. A trip that should have lasted three hours, ended up lasting four hours giving us an hour to get ready for our game.
To understand how out of ordinary this was, you have to realize who Coach Martin is. This is an inside glance into the life of Kirk Martin. Before every game, we leave with enough time to give us around 2 hours to prepare for the game ahead of us.
Also, to quote Coach Martin, "On time is ten minutes early." This applies to practice, too! All that to say, we are a very structure-oriented team who likes our typical schedule. Because of this, we were slightly out of our usual rhythm and worried how that would affect the game. Once again, the Lady Jackets pulled together and played like a team.
One thing that I love about this year is how much better we play as a team and pull together when things aren’t that pretty.
This upcoming week will be an easy week as far as basketball goes, but a very difficult week academically. My teammates will be taking their finals this week and would appreciate prayer for this stressful time.
I would also appreciate prayer as I have my ACL reconstructive surgery on Monday, Dec. 7. Thanks again for all your support! Keep enjoying this wonderful time of year and remember the real reason of the season - Christ with us!
Nov. 30, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving! I hope that you all had a great Thanksgiving break and enjoyed time with family and friends. As a team, we were graciously given Wednesday, Thursday, and most of the day Friday off to spend time with our families. Since this is such a busy time of the year for us, this was greatly needed and appreciated.
Before we left for break, we won our fourth game of the year by beating Urbana University. Urbana is an NCAA Division II school that was a good test of how ready we are for our move to the NCAA. My teammates continued to show steadiness as they won the game by 13. One special note needs to be made about Aubrey’s career-high of 19 rebounds!
Then, on Saturday we took on Wittenberg University which is a neighboring NCAA Division III school. For Coach Martin and several girls on the team, this was a very big game. Living in a small area where it seems that everyone knows everyone, it was important for us to beat Wittenberg to prove that we are good enough to go NCAA.
Also, it quieted a few doubters of the caliber of Lady Jacket play. During play, the Lady Jackets had as big of a lead as 17, but ended up winning by 12. We were pleased to walk away victorious and with a record of 5-1.
Now, the season really starts! Before conference starts, the games we play show us where we are, but the games that really matter are conference games. Starting Tuesday, we begin conference play at Walsh University. Also this week, we will play Wilberforce on Thursday and Malone on Saturday.
We covet your prayers all season, but especially this week as we prepare for finals week while balancing three games. I hope you are enjoying the beginning of the Christmas season, Christmas music, and the whole reason for Christmas - Jesus. After all, everything is for His glory!
Nov. 23, 2009
O-H-I-O! Congrats to all you Buckeye Fans after this weekend. Before our game on Saturday, we went to Applebee’s and watched the first half of the game. For the most part, our team was supporting the scarlet and gray; however, there was one rebel rouser with us the weekend - Lynsey Fabian.
Despite the outcome of the game, Fabes still loves us and we still love her, but it is still fun to get competitive about our second favorite teams. I say second favorite because we all agree on our favorite team.....the Lady Jackets! And this weekend, we were very successful by winning both of our games.
This past weekend was our first road game of the 2009-10 season, and we were ready for the challenge. After a 3-hour and 40-minute bus ride to Grace College, the Lady Jackets played Taylor University.
Traditionally, Taylor has been a tough match-up for us, but this year we finished the game victorious. In front of a very quiet gym, the Lady Jackets held strong when things didn’t always go well. Although it wasn’t one of our prettier games, we held together as a team and learned a little more about how to relate to each of our teammates.
I would like to give a special shout out to Kara Cayton. For part of the game, our team was struggling getting the ball in the hoop, but Kara helped that. Kara stepped up and led the charge that led us to victory.
Then, on Saturday, we took on the host of the tournament, the Grace Lancers. With regards to size, we were slightly intimidated by the post presence we were going up against. But, that didn’t prohibit us from adding another win to our 3-1 record. The Lady Jackets pushed the ball well and improved on the points that Coach Martin had made from the previous night. It was very encouraging to see an enactment of a game plan on such short notice.
As a team, we are looking forward to a much-needed Thanksgiving break, but still have opponent Urbana standing between us and time with our families. We will continue working on and off the court For His Glory!
Nov. 16, 2009
What an exciting weekend! This past weekend, we had our annual opening tournament and hosted Indiana Wesleyan, Malone, and Wilberforce. On Friday, we opened against Malone University.
Before I continue, let me tell you how much of a privilege it is to put on a Lady Jacket uniform. As we travel all over the Midwest, sometimes venturing south and north, we realize just how blessed we are as a university. We have the best facilities, the best trainers, and the best fans!
Seriously, no other school that we play against has the fan support that we have. This was evident this weekend when we opened in front of a very loud and enthusiastic crowd! Thank you to all of our faithful fans who cheer for us; you are worth at least 10 points!!
Friday night was our debut on the hardwood this season, and we played great! From the onset of the game, it was clear that we had come ready to play. By the end of the game, every single member of our team had scored with a grand total of 103 points. Funny thing was, the loudest cheering for the game was when we scored the 100th point. Apparently, people get excited when a game reaches 100.
Lydia led the charge for the Jackets while scoring a career- high 22 points. In addition to her, Rachel, Aubrey, Alison, and Danielle, also scored double digits. Overall, the team played great on both ends of the court and played very well as a team.
Then, on Saturday, we hosted Indiana Wesleyan University, who is ranked 14th in the NAIA. To understand who IWU is, it is important to realize that they have been nationally-ranked for the past several years and have won a national championship. Coming into the game, we were very excited to play a nationally-ranked team and prove ourselves.
At the beginning of the game, we held with the Wildcats pretty well, but, after halftime, IWU began to pull away. Then, we began to pull our way back into the game, and next thing you knew, it was a tie ball game.
After the game was tied, I don’t really remember any details besides going into overtime because I was proud of my teammates. While it is frustrating to lose to a team who you know you can beat, it is so encouraging to watch a team come back from a seemingly lost situation. Last year, we would have accepted defeat and lost by more than four. This year, we pulled together as a team and finished strong for His glory!
Nov. 11, 2009
Well, it’s that time of year again! We are FINALLY ready to take on people wearing different uniforms than us. After six long weeks of practicing, it is finally time to prove our #11h ranking in the country.
As a team, we are excited to see what we can do on the court and improve from last year. Since last year we have lost Lish (Lee) and Bayley (Nosal), but gained Danielle (Spiliotis) and Amber (Hayslip). The addition of these two has added many smiles to our faces.
In case you don’t know these two, let me introduce them to you. Danielle is from Long Island, New York and has the attitude and accent to go with it. She is known for her sweet dancing skills and big headphones. As far as basketball goes, the girl can put the ball in the hoop and flat out pack people!
Amber hails from Springfield, Ohio and was a former teammate with Alison (Lemon) at Southeastern High School. Not the dancer like Danielle, Amber is known for her loud cheering and towel waving.
On the court, Amber can do it all. At the beginning of the year, she started as a post, then moved to a guard, and is now a post again! If that is not enough, she has done really well in both positions!
As for the rest of the team, we are pretty much the same. Two big differences are a marriage and an engagement. Caitlyn Mauch is now Caitlyn Brooks and Alison is engaged!
Since the beginning of the season we have lost two members of our team to knee injuries - Stefanie Rodgers and me (Jenna Smith). Stef was planning on playing this year despite having torn both of her ACL’s in previous years. Apparently, that wasn’t God’s will because at the beginning of the year, she decided that her knees had enough and she would be used in other areas of life. In case you don’t know, Stef was a stud basketball player and will be greatly missed this season.
Then, on Halloween, I tore my ACL and meniscus at a scrimmage at Mount Vernon Nazarene. Obviously, this isn’t what anyone would have planned or wanted, but God has a plan and we are all looking forward to seeing how God uses this for His glory this season.
Thank you all for all of your prayers and support during this preseason and for your future support this upcoming season. Your encouragement is so appreciated! Until next time, Go, Lady Jackets!
Jenna Smith is a junior academically as a nursing major, who was prepped locally at Cedarville High School. She played in all 30 games last winter as a redshirt freshman with 29 starts in the post.
