The Write Stuff: Jamie Carey
The six Longhorns seniors (Jody Bell, Kala Bowers, Jamie Carey, Annissa Hastings, Heather Schreiber and Mercedes Williams) will take turns writing a weekly diary entry - The Write Stuff - from their own "Senior Slant" perspectives on topics galore! This week, senior guard Jamie Carey brings everyone up-to-date on the crazy and hectic schedule that the Longhorns have undertaken - including the trip to New England to play Connecticut, a special tour of the ESPN studios in Bristol, Conn., and a return home to face Baylor where the Longhorns posted a big upset of the No. 4 Lady Bears. Up next on The Write Stuff (week of Jan. 30-Feb. 5): the "Senior Slant" from Annissa Hastings. What a week it has been! Certainly it was a week of highs, lows, in's and out's. Last weekend we flew to Connecticut to play UConn in the Hartford Civic Center. We flew out to New England Saturday night, following our Oklahoma State game. After our three-hour flight, we arrived in Hartford fairly late in the evening so we all willingly passed out for the evening. In the morning, we woke up had some breakfast and headed to practice. We spent the morning preparing for the game the following day. Afterward practice, the ESPN producer and cameraman were conducting interviews for Monday's game. ESPN captured on camera what had previously only been witnessed on the confines of our bus rides - our infamous singing group, the Mighty Clouds of Zion. Most of the time, they sing gospel very well, behind the vocal leadership of TT (Tamra Cobbins), so it was great for the nation to witness their wonderful talents! ESPN taped them singing a song, in tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr., and they showed portions of the song during the broadcast the next day. As the "grandma" of the team, I was so proud! Following practice, we were incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to tour the ESPN studios in Bristol, Connecticut. I don't think any of us knew what to expect, but in all our wildest thoughts, the tour exceeded every one of them! We saw their actual studios where they film ESPN Sports Center, NFL Tonight, The Budweiser Hotseat, and others. The technology, the sets, the lights were all amazing to witness in person. While we were in one of the studios, we were all apart of an ESPN interview, which was anchored by Lisa Leslie. She was very kind to us all and was a joy to meet. From there, we toured the rest of ESPN, seeing their various control rooms, digital technology rooms, and future expansion options for the future. It truly was an incredible set-up, making it blistering clear why they lead the industry they are in with sporting events. The tour was an experience I'm sure none of us will forget. Thank you ESPN - and especially Carol Stiff and Tina Thornton - for your kindness in showing us around! On Monday, we played UConn. The game did not go as any of us imagined, but there were some positives that came from the game. We fought hard for the games' entirety, regardless of the score. Different people stepped up and made plays in the second half, which is always a good sign. Following the game, the attitude in the locker room was positive as we all knew we needed to get back to Austin to delve ourselves back into the challenging array of the Big 12, starting with our next opponent, Baylor. Tuesday (Jan. 18), we all headed back to classes. I'm not sure I will be saying this in about a month, but it was great to get back to a daily routine and have a class schedule! Our team seems to benefit from having a constant routine. This semester will be a challenging one for us all. Personally, I am very excited about the classes I am taking, as they seem to be highly intriguing! After a full week of classes, we played Baylor on Saturday afternoon at the Erwin Center. Leading up to the game, practices felt good, as everyone was very focused and walked with a little pep in their steps. You could tell people were ready to play! The game ended up going very well. Everyone played extremely hard and we displayed a tough defensive effort in both halves. We stayed very connected the entire game, which proved to be imperative in guarding them inside and out. Along with a strong team effort, there were some individual efforts that were brilliant. Namely, Nina (Norman) played amazing using her quickness to her advantage. [Note: Congrats to Nina for being named the Big 12 Player of the Week on Monday - well -deserved!] Also, as Coach Conradt mentioned after the game, our bench was the difference in the game! They provided a HUGE spark off the bench changing the game in a positive manner. Every single person shone brightly at some point during the game. I was very proud of our team. That is our previous week in a nutshell. We now focus our efforts and thoughts for the road challenges in the Big 12. We travel to Oklahoma and Missouri this week. Should be a great week! Until next time….
|
|
