The Write Stuff: Jody Bell
In a new TexasSports.com feature this season, 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, from their own perspectives on topics galore! This week, 6-2 forward Jody Bell writes about Texas' last two games, spending time with her adopted "Austin" family during Christmas, and the approaching matchup with No. 24 Rutgers, who is coming off a big upset win over No. 8 Tennessee. Up next on The Write Stuff (week of Jan. 3): the "Senior Slant" from Heather Schreiber. Hey y'all, Wow it has been a while since one of us wrote the "Senior Slant", and we have been busy!! Since our last report we have played two games and came away with two wins. Our first win was against UT-Arlington. Prior to this game we were really focusing on improving our defense in practice. We wanted to come out very strong and set the tone early in this game, and we did. Everyone got to contribute in this game, and help the team to a 69-24 victory over the Lady Mavs. As you can tell, the coaches have been stressing a lot of defense over the break to get us prepared for the upcoming challenges that we will face. The Big 12 season starts in a few days! But along with that, we have been able to have some fun and some time off. After our win over the Lady Mavs on Dec. 21, everyone returned home to spend the Christmas holidays with family and friends. I am fortunate enough to be able to spend the holidays with my "Austin family", the Grays. We have a lot of fun, and they do a really great job of making me feel at home during the holidays – something which I will be forever grateful for. And for all of those who know the team very well - we are all perfect angels and were good this year, and I know Santa was very good to each and every one of us!! After a great Christmas with our families where we all enjoyed some down time and rest, we returned back to Austin to practice on the 26th and began to prepare for Sam Houston State. Again in this game our focus was on a consistent defensive effort, along with trying to establish consistency and solid play from the bench. We did both of these things and we ended up with a solid victory over the Bearkats. We now face an aggressive and ready-to-play team from Rutgers on Sunday January 2nd, as the Scarlet Knights are coming off a big upset win over Tennessee a few days ago. Sunday will also be Texas Basketball Family Day at the Erwin Center. At halftime, the members of our families are introduced, and it's always a special ovation that they receive from the great fans (that's what they tell us, since we are in the locker room at the time going over the game). After the game, we'll all go over and have a great buffet meal at the Centennial Room in Bellmont Hall to cap off Family Day. I hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas, and has a Happy New Year! We cannot wait to see all of you in the stands this Sunday! Hook 'Em, JB
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