Fresno State Athletics
1/19/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Ren's Court Report
| Lauren Selmon | ||
Position: Forward Height: 5-11 Hometown: Norman, Okla./ High School: Norman HS Last College: Baylor Univ. Complete Bio |
Court Report #5
Location: Ruston, Louisiana
You can see a team's true character in the way they respond to difficult times. Unfortunately, we finished 0-2 on our last road trip after playing SMU and Louisiana Tech. It was a sickening feeling for us because we hate to lose!
So now, it's in our court to choose how to respond. I speak on behalf of the entire team when I say, "We're not backin' down one bit!" We still have a long season ahead of us, and we are hungry to compete again!
I wish every time we played, it was as intense as it was at Louisiana Tech. Championship banners were proudly displayed all around the arena! The crowd was loud! The band was obnoxious! Their starters were introduced with bursts of smoke and Rocky-like music! The public address announcer talked about their winning tradition...their women's basketball team has never had a losing season! Practically everyone in the arena was against us. But, that's the greatest environment to play in! I loved it!
And even though there was an amazing atmosphere all around us at Louisiana Tech, I sat there thinking how lucky I was to be a Fresno State Bulldog. We are in the first stages of constructing a winning tradition of our own. It is so exciting to be a part of building the dream! It's not going to be easy; we're going to get some bumps and bruises along the way. But we're all working hard and I wouldn't want to be playing for anyone else anywhere else.
Another special Louisiana Tech memory: Chantella Perera, our newest team member from Australia, played her first collegiate minutes. What an experience for her, even if it came after about 10 days of being with the team. Her parents drove all the way from California to Texas for the SMU game (all on the wrong side of the road, her dad said)!
Also on this road trip, I loved getting to practice in sunny South Dallas at Lincoln High School, home of freshman Brittani Green! There is an amazing spirit within good ole' "Honest Abe" High! As practice started, students poured into the gym from all directions and completely filled up one side of the bleachers. We counted almost 75. It was extremely motivating to play with so many young eyes glued upon us! Many of the kids ran up to Brittani, hugged her and welcomed her home. Brittani's old coach and her principal also shared encouraging words with us.
Other memorable words we heard on the trip were "Uh-Oh!" See, we have a basketball called the Golden Egg that Coach Johnson-Klein makes a player carry around everywhere she goes until Coach K feels the player deserves to no longer carry it. If someone else steals the Golden Egg from the player, the thief gets free dessert and the player has to run five miles.
So far, Aritta Lane, Veronica Mack, and Chantea Fleming have all carried the Golden Egg around. Because they have strong feelings against running five miles, they each had strategies of how to keep the Golden Egg safe.
For example, Veronica put the ball in a little bag and carried it around on her shoulder. Chantea found an even easier way of protecting the Golden Egg; she just stuck it down her shirt, making her look, (how can I say this delicately?), VERY pregnant! A woman who prepared lunch for us in Ruston saw Chantea and loudly blurted out, "Uh Oh!" She obviously never learned the "think before you speak" concept.
To prevent any more confusion, Chantea moved the ball from the stomach area of her shirt to the side of the shirt. No longer did she look pregnant, just a little unusually put together!
On the way home from Ruston, we lost a lot of luggage. Someone overfueled the plane so the flight was overweight. To be safe, they didn't load all the luggage. We also had to sit for 20 minutes and burn some of the extra fuel off. Moral of the story- don't top off a plane! On the brighter side, we got to share the plane ride with our wrestling team! They were returning from Oklahoma.
IT'S A GREAT DAY TO BE ALIVE! IT'S A GREAT DAY TO BE A BULLDOG!
-'Ren
