Feb. 17, 2004

I have to admit I love coming home to my room and sleeping in my own bed. This week was physically and emotionally taxing. Two long plane rides, blistering cold weather and late night arrivals can take its toll. Dorothy sure knew what she was talking about when she said, "There is no place like home." Speaking of "home" how great was it to see a piece of Colorado right here in Waco on Friday. I have to say that I did make a "you will not believe this" phone call home to the folks back in the Springs. I was disappointed I didn't see the blanket of snow cover the ground on Saturday morning, but we did see our share of the white stuff this week.

My bag stayed packed with gloves, beanies (toboggans to you Texas folk), and all sorts of winter weather apparel. Not to mention it stayed packed, with the exception of a quick load of laundry to wash the sweats. We left Tuesday evening, arriving home early Thursday morning, like 2:30 a.m., only to leave Friday afternoon. I am not such a big fan of small planes, turbulence is not my thing. But the hours cooped up on a small space forced some of us to study for upcoming midterms. Thank goodness for study partners, Chameka (Scott) and I kept each other accountable on our way home from Missouri because we both had tests the next morning. Don't worry, I passed my test!

Speaking of tests, we had two big road challenges with Missouri and Iowa State. In Columbia we aced the test, every aspect of the game we had an "A." We dominated the boards, we dove after loose balls, and we hit big shots and just took over. Defensively we knew our assignments and handled everything the Tigers threw at us. After a disappointing loss at home it was nice to steal one on the road.

With the ups come the downs. And this test we didn't pass. In order to finish in the top 4 in the Big 12, we need to play consistently. We struggled on defense and Iowa State made us pay by hitting some timely three pointers that put the nail in the coffin.

But a test of a true team comes when things don't go to suit them. It is our response that matters. That game is gone, five more remain...no more letdowns.

-Jessika Stratton