May 8, 2005

Hey family, friends, and fans-

As you all know, today we are departing for Australia, and I can't tell you how excited everyone is. We are all so grateful to be able to go to Australia and do what we love. For some it will be their first trip out of the country, and others are pros.

This trip is also very special because we will be in the presence of our two transfers- Ashlee and Sara. This is their first time traveling and playing with the team. They add such a unique dynamic to the team.

We have been preparing for Australia for months. Everyone had to get passports, make sure they had the right phone cards, and we had to make sure our digital cameras were intact.

We have been practicing for three weeks prior to the trip and everyone has been glad to get back on the court. However, it has been tough. We had to juggle intense practices with finals and moving out of our dorm rooms, but the excitement for Australia seized our stress levels. Practices have been very focused on preparing us to play Australian basketball. The word out on the street is Australians can shoot and they play an up tempo game with a 24 second shot clock. We have been working on adjusting to the shot clock because in the states our shot clock is 30 seconds. In practice we have worked on pushing the ball and getting out in transition.

We have also studied the sights and adventures we want to participate in. We are going on a bridge walk, and some girls might even go bungee jumping. Plus the coaches have made sure we will be prepared for the 14 hr. flight. They handed out articles on what to eat, how to adjust to the time, and how to stay active on the flight.

We are really excited to get everything started, and all the hard work is finally going to pay off. We will keep you updated on our happenings in Australia, and you will be able to continue to follow us on the website.

Well, we are on our way to the land down under, and we are going to have a totally awesome time.

Have a "good-day mate."

Nicole