And the Cavs win it!

Although our official season has come to a close, the yellow jackets just can't stay away from the gym for too long! After taking a nice week off for Spring Break we all came back to BW ready to shoot, run, and work out. We had our first open gym yesterday where we split into 2 teams: the Celtics and the Cavs! It can get repetitive just playing 5 on 5 so we like to spice things up and play in our very own NBA series. The Cavs started off strong but the Celtics came back and made the series pretty close. The Cavs prevailed 4-1 thanks to Ariel Broth, our glory days senior! Haha. I am sure next open gym's series will be just as fun!
JoBeth Roll (aka Mo Williams of the Cavs!)

Sad yet excited

So our season came to a close much earlier than we are used to. We know we are a better team than the results we had at the end of the season and that makes us sad.
Ironically, one of the teams we lost to, Rochester, is playing in the final four this coming weekend. We also beat 2 teams that made it to the sweet 16. So, we know what is possible.
On the other hand, I'm really excited for what is to come in the future. Why? Because this team seems more anxious to get to work than past teams. Losing can be good when it pushes you forward. We have a lot to do to prepare, but work ethic can get us there. THAT is exciting!!

Coach Harrer

15 strong

Today, we got a little treat as we got to practice against some of our alumni. They did a great job as a scout team, and it was fun to play with them again :) But it isn’t just the alums that are being helpful, we always say that everyone on the team plays an important role in our success, and this is certainly true. Jess already mentioned how the team really came together to pull out a victory over JCU on Tuesday, and I completely agree. Everyone, no matter what her role, is really focused on the team’s success. Those who don’t get the chance to play still play such an important role. They go hard every day in practice and most of the time they don’t get breaks. They have to press and play defense for fifteen minutes straight sometimes! And their support and leadership from the bench is going to continue to be a huge key for us down the stretch.

Our game against JCU in the Quarterfinal was one of my favorite games to play in. Even though we struggled the entire game and never really had a lead, everyone played with so much passion, enthusiasm and faith that there was never any doubt in my mind we would win. We were down by one with fifteen seconds to play when sophomore Catherine “Kitty Cat” Spisak got fouled in the 1-and-1, and I knew she would make her free throws even though she was spazzing out at the line a little bit.

Dear Kitty,

Next time focus more on the rim during your clutch free throws and not the confusion over what defense we are going to be in.

Love,

Ariel

Basically, what I’m trying to say is that I’m very proud of everyone who stepped it up, put their fears and frustrations aside, and gave me an opportunity to play in another game. People kept up that attitude today in practice. Everyone is dialed in and focused on the physical AND mental parts of the game. I can’t wait until 8 pm tomorrow!

<---------Kitty and I fifteen game-seconds after she hit her free throws. This is the best picture ever because it shows the thrill of victory and genuine friendship. There is nothing better than celebrating a hard fought victory with your friends...

...even if it means blowing out their eardrums. Sorry Kitty.

LETS GET DAT SHIP BABY!!

So my wonderful fellow yellow jackets pulled out a win last night over JCU & I am so proud of everyone. What a fabulous comeback that was. By far it was one of the best games we have had as coming together as a team, all the positive talk and pulling together did us in well & we got dat goooooood W baby.

Today we started prepairing for the semi-finals against Mount Union and lets just say Mount has no idea whats coming to them. We had a great practice today & I think our gameplan is brilliant. Everyone has been really focused the past week of practicing and I know only good will come out of this weekend.

My ring size is 7 and rings really flatter my beautiful hands, so lets win a ship & cut that net down at cap's homecourt. No matter what they say we are the team to beat and we are the best in league, so lets prove all those haters wrong! GO JACKETS :)


I would also like to say that Coach K did a great job being the out of bounds coach. Way to wave those towels, you did it with style..


Jess Carpenter #33

Hey everyone. We've got a nice week ahead of us. Mount Union is home on Wednesday and we cannot wait to beat 'em. Tough loss on Saturday but on a good note we had to get an ugly loss out of the way sooner or later. I'm glad sooner because we tryin to win a NCAA championship here please.

Coach had us over last night for the Superbowl game. She was generous enough to get us some food and we had a lot of fun just sitting around and talking about anything. Although it's not funny when Catherine makes fun of me, pretty much because she's not funny. We fight a lot and I usually win. But all in all it's been a good weekend.

Let's Go Jackets!

Jen Calhoon #21

OK Jackets, I see you

SSOOO I am currently taking a break from studying for my econ test to write this blog. I would just like to say Econ: not fine by me. Not a whole lot is going on in the hive this week, besides preparing for our games with Heidelberg and Capital. We watched the Grammy's on Monday and, thank goodness, were able to enjoy the 3D effects of the Michael Jackson tribute thanks to the glasses that Catherine oh so generously provided. There was a moment of panic right before the tribute when Cat realized that the red and blue eye pieces were not perforated but she was able to think on her feet and got some scissors. We made fun, but in the end we were all grateful for those glasses. Thats about it.. AWWWWW JACKETS

Megan Frisina #4

happy birthday candace and cat!

First off, Happy 19th Birthday to Candace and Happy 20th to Catherine! :)

We started Saturday off great, beating Marietta. We struggled in the first half but then turned it around in the second half and ended up killing them. It was a great team effort and we got every goal except positive assist to turnovers. "no food for youuu!" -Thanks for rubbing it in, Coach.

Then Saturday night we had a birthday party for Cat. It was a good time and Catherine sure loved blowing her birthday horn...over and over and over again. Candance went home and we called her at midnight :)

Wednesday we have Heidelberg then its Capital and Mount! Let's work hard to keep getting those victories ladies and stay on our way to get that ring ;)

-Paige

go jackets!

Beating Wilmington

Yesterday, we played and beat the Wilmington Quakers 59-58. Just before leaving BW, we had a little bit of a situation. The bus that was prompt to arrive and leave at 8:45, didn't come til a little bit after 9am. After the bus finally arrived, we loaded up and were on our way. After about a 3 in a half hour drive and a quick stop at Panera, we finally made it to Wilmington and were ready to play. Throughout the entire game, the girls played hard, and stayed focused. Although the score was close throughout the game, the girls still fought, and fought hard. We faced the adversity, and brought home yet another W.

On our ride back home, us freshmen had to partake in a obstacle course on the bus. The course included jumping over Ali's legs, going under Shroeders legs, forcing your way through pillows being smacked upon you by Cath and Katie, rubbing Coach K's head and repeating the process over again, only in reverse on the way back. Jo's trial was the highlight of it all, beating out Paige's, head to the back of the seat fiasco. Anyway, on Jo's way back, I don't know how she managed, but she completely just flat out plopped on the floor. I thought she died for a sec. But she laughed, got up and finished, still managing to beat out Paige's score of i think as i recall 16 point something. As for who won the race, Rachel was the victor with a time of 6 point something. Olivia came in second with the score of 8 point something. As for me, I had a fun time doing it as well!

Our next game is this Wednesday at home versus JCU!

YJKA (Yellow Jackets Kick Butt)

Candace #3

At the Request of Her Holyness...

Amanda Schroeder has requested I add some photos from our last Game Viewing Party, and I am only happy to oblige. It was another fun night hanging out with everyone!











Junior shooting god Amanda Schroeder poses with her housemates! Thanks for supporting us ladies! Too bad Abbey's witty "Hi Amanda" sign didn't make it on TV.




















Freshman guard JoBeth Roll poses with her family and Amanda Schroeder poses next to her brother.



Freshman point guard Rachel Rossman poses by her parents, who like the Frisina's, are all about getting their TV time.

KIdder Elementary

One of favorites to do over our winter break is go to Kidder Elementary and help out. As you can see, we probably learn as much as the students do!!!
To the right are Amanda Schroeder and Monica Gustin helping students with some reading.

Jess Carpenter and Katie Heinlen helping students.



Everyone had a great time learning some new things!

And sooo it Begins!

This coming Saturday marks the beginning of the second round of the OAC. We are all excited to get started and see what we can do the second time around. We are on a roll and everything seems to be falling into place. We can only continue to get better everyday! As far as school goes, another week of classes has begun and its going by pretty fast. Special thanks to Martin Luther King and all that he did to allow us to have a day off!:) The team got together at Ariel's again to watch the replay of our game. Jobeth and I's families managed to get TV time as well as my roomies so congrats to them!:)(Ariel if your reading this...time to post some pictures). No game on Wednesday so for all our anxious fans you'll have to wait till Saturday!!

Amanda Schroeder, #12

Let's Goooo!

Coach asked someone to blog, so here I am. I has been an absolutely crazy break. It started off with a rough loss to DePauw at home. After such an upsetting defeat, our team met for five hours to hash things out, and figure out what we need to work on to make our season successful. It was a great but emotional meeting, and now this hive is back and stronger than ever. We won our holiday tournament by beating Manchester and Loras. Then we played Marietta, where sophomore post Katie Heinlen scored a career high 22 points! Let’s go Heinlen.

Rachel Rossman already told you a little about our game against Mount. I agree with her, it was a great victory. Everyone played hard and played together. We trusted our coaches and followed our game plan unselfishly. Sophomore post Nancy Coulter posted a career high and junior guard Amanda Schroeder schroedered the Raiders up and down the court. She had 22 points and played great defense! But nothing beats sophomore wing Monica Gustin’s fake pass/layup on the fast break. She earned herself the number one play on Coach Strickland’s Top 10 Plays of the Game Countdown. Let’s go, Mon Mon. After the victory, sophomore post Catherine Spisak made my career by bravely doing what no women’s basketball player had done before: She messed up Coach’s hair. Catherine went on to have a double double against Muskingum, so that must have a been a lucky noogie she gave Coach. Let’s go, Kitty Cat.

Off the court, this team has spent a lot of time participating in official and unofficial team bonding. We had our Christmas party where we exchanged joke gifts as usual, and the freshmen performed an original poem. Not to be outdone, the returners, all seven of us, performed a parody of “Bad Romance” which I wrote. I don’t want to brag, but I’m going to. I can write a mean parody. Anyways, it was called “Bee Romance” and we brought down Tressel Lounge with our beautiful voices and sweet dance moves. Let’s go returners!

Now classes are starting up, which is a bit sad. It has been fun to hang out with everyone without any outside stress for the past couple of weeks. I guess we’ll have to get back to reality at some point. One thing is for sure though; this team is closer than ever. We’ve also grown so much in the past three weeks it’s unbelievable. If we keep playing like champions, regardless of our opponents, and if we continue to get better every day, then we’ll be champions. Let’s go Jackets!

Ariel Brough, The Senior Center, #45

Some jackets and fans hanging out after the Marietta game. Back Row: student assistant/practice player Paul Crego. Middle Row: My roommate Brittany, freshman guard Megan Frisina, sophomore wing Monica Gustin, Me, junior guard Ali Stack, super fan Pete Taylor, former player Sasha Samara. Front Row: Freshman guard JoBeth Roll, freshman point guard Olivia "Feet in a Furnace" French, and former yellow jacket Courtney Ritzler.

A few of us watched our Muskingum game on Sports Time Ohio at my apartment. Here, Megan Frisina poses next to her parents who managed to get themselves some TV time. Next Saturday the 16th our game against Otterbein will be televised as well!