Hi everyone it's Erica again! Sorry it has taken so long to respond. We have been facing a lot of adversity these past 10 days or so with a few people sick and a death in one of our players family. This week is also finals week and I know my teammates and I are ready for this stressful week to be over.
As for basketball we are now a very happy 8-1 team considering we haven't played up to our full potential yet. Two weekends ago we took the six hour bus trip to Buffalo for our first two conference games against Niagara and Canisius. After slow starts in the first half of both games we buckled down in the second half, winning the Niagara game 60-38 and the Canisius game 70-52. In the Niagara game we were lead by Julianne Viani with 18 points and 5 assists, followed by Rachele Fitz with 15 points. We also got two great games by Maria Laterza with 8 points and 10 rebounds and freshmen Brandy Gang with 8 points and 6 rebounds. In the Canisius game we were paced by Fitz with 24 points and Viani with 16 points and 4 assists. That was followed by myself with 9 points and Laterza and Lynzee Johnson making good contributions with 7 points apiece.
The next week in practice we really focused on executing our offenses and knowing the scout better. We ran a great motion in both games but we weren't able to execute our offenses the way the coaches wanted us to. This past Saturday we had a home game against a good Boston University team that was picked to finish third in the America East. Boston University was a very efficient team and executed their offense very well as they only turned the ball over eleven times. It wasn't the prettiest game on our part but we were able to escape with a 73-62 win. We were once again led by Fitz with 28 points and 12 rebounds and Viani with 19 points and 5 assists. Johnson also scored in double figures with 10 points and 7 rebounds. After the wins Rachele Fitz was named the MAAC Player of the Week for the third time this season. The Boston game was a good win for us heading into finals and the last game before Christmas break.
Coach Giorgis gave us Sunday and Monday off to study for finals before returning Tuesday to prepare for Saturday's game against a very good St. Bonaventure's team, that already upset Michigan State. This is going to be a challenge for us because not only are they a good team but after the game we all get to leave and go home for Christmas! Everyone is excited to go home and see our friends and family but we have to focus on the game and think about home afterwards. We have been known in the past a few times to bomb the game before break and end up losing, and we don't want that knowing that a loss would make practices over break miserable. I think this team is a very focused and competitive group and I believe we won't overlook the game. So don't forget to check back in with Maria Laterza next week for updates on our basket"bawl" game and as always we enjoy the comments you leave us! Merry Christmas everyone!!
Erica Allenspach
As for basketball we are now a very happy 8-1 team considering we haven't played up to our full potential yet. Two weekends ago we took the six hour bus trip to Buffalo for our first two conference games against Niagara and Canisius. After slow starts in the first half of both games we buckled down in the second half, winning the Niagara game 60-38 and the Canisius game 70-52. In the Niagara game we were lead by Julianne Viani with 18 points and 5 assists, followed by Rachele Fitz with 15 points. We also got two great games by Maria Laterza with 8 points and 10 rebounds and freshmen Brandy Gang with 8 points and 6 rebounds. In the Canisius game we were paced by Fitz with 24 points and Viani with 16 points and 4 assists. That was followed by myself with 9 points and Laterza and Lynzee Johnson making good contributions with 7 points apiece.
The next week in practice we really focused on executing our offenses and knowing the scout better. We ran a great motion in both games but we weren't able to execute our offenses the way the coaches wanted us to. This past Saturday we had a home game against a good Boston University team that was picked to finish third in the America East. Boston University was a very efficient team and executed their offense very well as they only turned the ball over eleven times. It wasn't the prettiest game on our part but we were able to escape with a 73-62 win. We were once again led by Fitz with 28 points and 12 rebounds and Viani with 19 points and 5 assists. Johnson also scored in double figures with 10 points and 7 rebounds. After the wins Rachele Fitz was named the MAAC Player of the Week for the third time this season. The Boston game was a good win for us heading into finals and the last game before Christmas break.
Coach Giorgis gave us Sunday and Monday off to study for finals before returning Tuesday to prepare for Saturday's game against a very good St. Bonaventure's team, that already upset Michigan State. This is going to be a challenge for us because not only are they a good team but after the game we all get to leave and go home for Christmas! Everyone is excited to go home and see our friends and family but we have to focus on the game and think about home afterwards. We have been known in the past a few times to bomb the game before break and end up losing, and we don't want that knowing that a loss would make practices over break miserable. I think this team is a very focused and competitive group and I believe we won't overlook the game. So don't forget to check back in with Maria Laterza next week for updates on our basket"bawl" game and as always we enjoy the comments you leave us! Merry Christmas everyone!!
Erica Allenspach
