November 26, 2007
After six days in the U.S. Virgin Islands, we are now headed home to College Station. We went 2-1 at the Paradise Jam with wins over Wichita State and Indiana. Overall, it was a good experience to travel to a different part of the country and have the opportunity to bond with my teammates. It was my first time to travel outside of the continental U.S. and use my passport, which I hope to fill with more travels in the future.
Even though we lost to Wake Forest in the second game of the tournament on Friday, we played well and did some good things in transition. They just came out and gave us a very competitive game. It was tough, but we will learn and grow from it. Once we returned to the hotel, we were able to catch the football team?â„¢s big victory over t.u. and then watch our men?â„¢s team beat Ohio State at Madison Square Garden for the NIT title. I?â„¢m so proud to be an Aggie!
The next day brought another chance for Morenike and I to rehab while the team practiced at a local high school gym. We worked out with our strength coach, Jen Jones, and we are feeling stronger and stronger each day. In his pregame speech prior to the Indiana game on Saturday, Coach Blair told us to go out and play hard and not to worry about the Wake Forest loss the night before. We executed well and Danielle Gant had a great game as she defended the boards for us against the Hoosiers. Our posts ran the four well as Reado, Damitria and Katrina did a good job inside with Micheaux out sick (she did not play due to bad migraine headaches). Congratulations to T-Kay and D.G. being named to the all-tournament team!
We got a little taste of home after our 60-48 victory over Indiana. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped by the local Wendy?â„¢s and had to chuckle to ourselves. In the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Wendy?â„¢s $1 menu was actually the $3 menu. We tried to talk down the prices (as you would do in the marketplace), but with no luck. Back at the hotel, I enjoyed my Wendy?â„¢s and watched the Kansas versus Missouri football game. Those are actually two teams that I can?â„¢t wait to play against in the Big 12. I used to compete against a lot of the KU and Mizzou players both in high school and AAU ball.
This morning, we finally had a chance to do some shopping and explore the city more before our flight back home. Ashlaa, Sydney, Micheaux, Katrina, Damitria, Aqua, Reado and I caught a taxi to the mall, but were disappointed that it was closed on Sunday. We eventually made our way to the marketplace where you could buy purses, jewelry and other souvenirs and trinkets. This is where we encountered a local man who owned a donkey named ?Oprah? who wore big green sunglasses. I?â„¢ve never seen anything like it and she was such a big hit with the other tourists.
T-Kay?â„¢s parents were able to make the Paradise Jam trip and we ran into them at Footlocker. The good thing about shopping in the USVI is that there is no sales tax and you save a percentage at the chain stores we have back here in the U.S. As we shopped, the locals made fun of our accents and said it was hard for them to understand us. Maybe, it?â„¢s the fact that I am soft-spoken, but I?â„¢m pretty sure they would have heard my teammates just fine (LOL).
I?â„¢m really going to miss the clear blue water in the Islands which was one of the most beautiful parts of the trip. I hear it is cold back home and is in the 40-50?â„¢s. I actually miss the colder weather back home in Missouri, so it will be nice to turn on the heater for a change.
Right now, we are having study hall in the airport as we wait for our flight from Miami to Houston and then on to College Station. I have two big tests next week in my management and STLC (application of learning) classes to study for, so wish me luck! We will have traveled a total of 12 hours today, so we are looking forward to coming home, have a good night?â„¢s rest and prepare for Michigan over the next couple of days in practice.
Thanks for reading and we look forward to seeing you at Reed Arena on Thursday! BTHOUM!
Tyra White is a freshman guard from Kansas City, Mo., and is majoring in journalism at Texas A&M