Nov. 15, 2010
Gonzaga University women's basketball senior point guard Courtney Vandersloot, from Kent, Wash., will be writing a season-long blog, giving Bulldog fans an in-depth and behind the scene look at the Zag basketball program. She will also start adding a sit-down video interview with select players throughout the year. Get ready for TALKING HOOPS WITH `SLOOT.
ENTRY FOUR: Monday, Nov.15
Our season has officially started with two games under our belts. Coach Graves has a reputation of starting non-conference play with a good team. This is an opportunity for us to see where we are as a team, both our strengths and our weaknesses. That is exactly what this past weekend did for us. Obviously, we didn't start the season off as we would have hoped with a win at USC. I think I can speak for all teams; nobody likes to start their season 0-1. But more than the loss, we as a team were disappointed about our performance. USC is a talented basketball team that will have a very good season this year, but we know that we are a much better team than what was displayed on the court Friday afternoon. We strongly believe if we were to play the game again, it would be a very good basketball game, with a different outcome. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way, so all we can do is learn from it. The good thing about basketball is that we don't have time to dwell on that loss because we have to focus on our next game, which happened to be the two days later against Whitman - which coach reiterated to us at our practice following the loss at USC.
We knew going into the game that we were a much superior team to the Whitman squad, but we had to prove something to ourselves. After such a poor performance at USC, we wanted to really play well and work on the things that were exposed as our weaknesses in our first game. I think our intensity was displayed in the beginning of the game, as we held Whitman scoreless for just about six minutes of play. Getting defensive stops was something we really wanted to focus on going into the game because a few defensive stops late in the USC game could have resulted in a different outcome for us. The USC game will be used as a learning experience, it is one of those games that will motivate us to get better every day in practice, because we just felt that we underachieved as a team, and we expected much more of ourselves when we set our goals at the beginning of the year.
With all of that being said, even great teams play poorly; it's a part of the game of basketball. What truly marks a great team is how they respond to any type of struggle. We have learned from it and have moved on to becoming a better basketball team. What's even better is we have an opportunity to play the No. 3 team in the country on our home floor, in front of what we hope to be a sold out crowd! Now I am sure Stanford is used to playing in front of sold out crowds, but they have never played in front of the best fans in the nation, the Zag Fans! I'll see and hear all of you there on Sunday at 2 p.m.!
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To end my weekly blog each week, I am going to add two "Top Moments" of my time here so far. I will start with my freshman year and eventually get to my senior year. My top moments will consist of both off and on the court at Gonzaga.
1. My freshman year, we had the opportunity to play at the University of Tennessee, who happened to be the reigning National Champions, with the National Player of the Year and future top draft pick Candace Parker on the team. Although we lost the game, it was an experience I will never forget. We played on the "Summit" court, in front of 14,598 fans ALL wearing orange. When we were about to start warming up, some of their fans sitting courtside asked where we are from, and we responded "Spokane". The fans responded with "Where's that?" Naturally we responded "Washington" (assuming that was enough) but they quickly responded with "Washington State?" We nodded our head and proceeded with our warm up, but we were all thinking; "Did they just ask if Spokane was in Washington State?" It was almost like we were foreign to the Tennessee fans. I will say I think times have changed a little bit, and if we were to go back now, almost three years later, we would get a different reaction because I truly believe we have put ourselves on the national map of women's basketball.
Also during our trip, we had the chance to see the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. If you are ever in the area, I would strongly recommend you to go through the museum, it's a great experience and you will learn a lot!
2. All of you loyal Zag fans will remember Jami Schaefer, formally known as Jami Bjorklund. One of my favorite memories of my freshman year was Jami and Drew's wedding. It was a gorgeous ceremony, but the best part was seeing somebody that we all cared so much for so happy. Seeing that was indescribable. Weddings are always very emotional and truly special, but when you have a special connection with the bride and groom, it's something else. I will admit that Jami's wedding was the first wedding I had been to since I was the flower girl for my uncle's wedding, but the glow on Jami's face the whole day is hard to come by and I will never forget it! It was so much fun for all of us to get dressed up in dresses (because as much time as we spend together, we don't see each other in dresses as often as you think). We took a lot of pictures and celebrated Jami and Drew's special day all night!
**Check out my third sit down interview with a teammate. This week is with Kelly Bowen or "Aussie" as she is known on the team. Aussie gives a lesson in Netball, talks about the American accent and what city in the states is comparable to back home. Enjoy! **
ENTRY THREE: Monday, Nov.8
I hope everybody enjoyed our exhibition game against Western Oregon this past Saturday. The score of the game may put out of sight the importance of an exhibition game to us. I don't want to undermine the fact that we put up 115 points, but it was a learning experience for all of us. I think even "a team effort" is an understatement. So let's break this down, we had 11 players play double digit minutes, five players scored in double digits and two finished with eight and two more with nine points. For those of you who were there, let's not forget the crowd favorite, Carter Schick, scoring five points, including a pull-up 3-pointer.
Now I hope you remember from my very first entry, how I mentioned the future of Gonzaga is in our freshman? All I have to say is...I told you so. Jazmine Redmon put on a show. Jazy was 6-of-8 from the field, including 3-of-3 from the free throw line, adding up to 16 points in 22 minutes. Stephanie Golden was the only other freshman that suited up, but did not disappoint. Golden had nine rebounds in 16 minutes to go along with five points. The only person to have more rebounds than her was Kayla Standish, who had 10!
Katelan Redmon, as I am sure you guys are growing to expect from her (just like we are), put up some numbers quick. In only 15 minutes of floor time, she scored 16 points. I don't know if everybody else thinks so too, but that reminded me of the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season against the University of North Carolina when Katelan came off the bench and scored 16 points in the first half alone!
Even though we are expected to win our exhibition game by a large margin, it's a great feeling to know we started the season off right, not just a win, but by playing well. Like I mentioned earlier, this game is used for a learning experience and although we had players put up big numbers, it more importantly gave us an opportunity to shape our roles on this team and that's what is going to help us through the rest of the season.
And I do have to say it was an amazing atmosphere and that's because of all you fans out there! We really appreciate your support and hope that you will keep it up through the season. You the fans make the McCarthey Athletic Center one of the toughest venues for opponents to play in. Thanks for helping us create such a great home court advantage! See you this Sunday for our regular-season home opener against Whitman. Game starts at 5!
**Check out my second sit down interview with a teammate. This week is with Meghan Winters. We talk about her dad Brian, a former NBA player and coach, her sister Keelin, a star soccer player at the University of Portland, and about Meghan's journey back from a torn ACL. Hope you enjoy! **
ENTRY TWO: Monday, Nov.1
In the spirit of games starting in under a week, I wanted to give you an insight on what a typical day for a Gonzaga University women's basketball player is. It's not a secret that we are busy trying to juggle school and basketball while attempting to squeeze in a social life. Instead of trying to combine all of our very different schedules into one, I will give you a rough outline of my daily schedule.
8:30 a.m. Rise and shine! Eat a breakfast of champions.
9:00 a.m. Weights
10:00 a.m. Get a snack to replenish from the lift and prepare for practice.
11:00-2:00 p.m. Practice Time!
2:10-4:00 p.m. Run to Class!
4:15 p.m. Head home, shower and eat a late lunch.
5:00 p.m. Go to the athletic lab to work on some homework.
7:00 p.m. Take a homework break to get some dinner.
8:00 p.m. Walk over to the gym to get some extra shots up.
9:00 p.m. Watch my favorite show gossip girl.
10:00 p.m. Bed time
Keep in mind that I am a senior and because of that I am only enrolled in three classes this semester. Our underclassmen are taking five. So if you can imagine my schedule with the addition of two more classes, that's what a typical day of a Gonzaga women's basketball player is. How busy we are depends on our class schedule and extracurricular expectations. Claire Raap is on her final year as an education major, so she is required to spend a certain amount of hours in a classroom. Between her required classes and practice, she must squeeze in time from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to spend time in her assigned class room. On Tuesdays, junior Kayla Standish has class and practice from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Although everyday is busy, some days are definitely busier than others. It may be far and few between, but we do have a little bit of free time and I think I can speak for all us that we spend it doing absolutely nothing but relaxing. Sunday night was an exception though. Our head coach Kelly Graves loves Halloween and puts together a pretty good haunted garage he calls `Spook Alley'! A few players and I go every year to check it out. This year Coach outdid himself. I went in twice and there were a few kids I saw go back multiple times. Coach even scared Janelle Bekkering pretty good when she was stepping out of the garage. It was pretty funny.
Well that is about it for this week. Off to practice, weights or class.
**Check out my first sit down interview with a teammate. This week is with Janelle. We talk Canadian National Team and Spokane. Hope you enjoy! **
ENTRY ONE: Monday, Oct. 25
Basketball season for everyone across the country has officially started. However, because of the recent rule change, the Gonzaga women's basketball team has already completed three weeks of practice. This will be my fourth and final year playing at Gonzaga and I couldn't think of a better way to start it off then to start three weeks earlier! We are coming off of a season that made the Gonzaga women's basketball history books. We are all excited to be a part of something that people will always remember, but the best part about it is that the members of this team aren't satisfied. We worked all summer and fall to make sure that this season we have the opportunity to be above and beyond where we were last season.
There is no questioning the loss we took from our seniors that graduated last year. We had an incredible senior class that was our leaders throughout the season and in the tournament. I know there has been a lot of concern regarding how we are going to replace such valuable pieces to our team. Well first I want to make clear that we have not found another Heather Bowman, or in that case another Tiffanie Shives or Vivian Frieson. I think we all know that those types of players and people are irreplaceable. BUT, I wouldn't worry too much about this Gonzaga team. What we do have are 15 very talented, hard-working young ladies that are willing to do whatever it takes to win basketball games. With that in mind, I won't bore you with the details you already know, so let me give you some insight about the future of Gonzaga women's basketball. Our freshman class this year may be as talented as the class we just said goodbye too. Our three true freshman (Stephanie Golden, Jazmine Redmon, Danielle Walter), and redshirt freshman transfer (Haiden Palmer) combined have the future of Gonzaga women's basketball looking up! We are expecting big things from the four of them.
I and the rest of the Zags are anxious to begin our season and we believe that we have the type of team to once again make history. I am not going to list the reasons why we believe this, instead why don't you be the judge of that and come support the team in our exhibition game with Western Oregon University, Saturday, Nov. 6 at 2 p.m.! Come see and meet the future of Gonzaga, I spoke so highly of, in action alongside the returners from last year's Sweet Sixteen squad. Let's start this memorable season of right by packing the Kennel. See you there! Go Zags.
