Aug. 16, 2016
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AMSTERDAM - The LMU women's basketball team began their #ROARINGthroughEUROPE tour on Aug. 14, landing in the morning on Monday and they have hit the ground running. Junior McKenzie Cast sent some thoughts on the trip so far.
"The best thing that I've seen so far is the difference in the cultures," said Cast. "In Amsterdam there are no traditional homes. Everyone lives in apartments and all the buildings are connected and touching. Also, all the people here are very relaxed and laid back."
For many on the team, this is the first chance to travel outside the United States.
"I have never been overseas before so I am super excited to explore these different cities and so far everything has been amazing," said Cast. "One thing that has surprised me so far is the amount of bicycles they have here. You have to constantly be on the lookout for bikes and mopeds."
And that has led to getting to know her teammates even better. "The one thing that I have learned about Bianca is that she doesn't know how to ride a bike. The funniest things that have happened so far is watching all of us try to dodge the bikes and mopeds when we're walking the streets."
The trip is about more than basketball, and in two days, Head Coach Charity Elliott has already seen the impact.
"The trip couldn't be any better...we are seeing some amazing things and I see this team bonding before my eyes. So excited to watch our progression even in these 4 games," said Elliott.
And they on Tuesday they played their first game, falling to a very experienced team in overtime on a last second shot.
Thoughts from Cast:
• "We were neck and neck the whole game. They would make a run and then we would make a run. We were tied for most of the game."
• "Freshmen Raychel Stanley and Brittney Reed, along with Seniors Jackie Johnson and Leslie Lopez-Wood hit clutch shots towards the end of the game to keep us in it. We were up by two and they scored a last send three at the buzzer."
• "It was a tough, physical game. I think we had good leadership from the upper classman and we worked hard until the end of the game.We were unlucky with her last shot going in. Our freshman stepped up and fit in perfectly with the rest of the team.
Definitely a learning experience for everyone. We were all constantly learning the FIBA rules throughout the game. And now that we know the rules we're ready and preparing for the next game. We out rebounded them but ultimately turnovers and missed layups hurt us a lot.
Coach Elliott echoed those thoughts. "Really pleased with our rebounding efforts tonight and our overall effort. We missed too many layups and had too many turnovers....that was the difference in the game. We were definitely rusty but we saw a lot of really good things. I thought our freshmen played very well and our veterans showed great communication and poise down the stretch. Leslie hit a shot to put us ahead by two and they just hit a tough contested three."
Follow the women's basketball team during their tour of Europe on social media, on Twitter and Instagram @LMUWBB.
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