Happy Thanksgiving

We had a disappointing loss last night at Virginia Wesleyan; it was a tough way for us all to part and go our separate ways for Thanksgiving break. Today I was in the car for a good chunk of the day and I was replaying parts of the game over and over in my head. All that reflection got me more bummed, but as soon as I got home I had the chance to go to an elementary school for a third grade Thanksgiving party. I helped the kids put together turkey headbands. We had cupcakes and colored cornacopias. They were so happy and thankful for the cupcakes and to get some extra attention from the visitors in the classroom. Their school is in a very poor section of the city and these kids do not have very much. After they left for the day, I learned that two of the kids are homeless. Yet they were so thankful to be in school. A little perspective can go a long way. We are so fortunate to be able to represent R-MC and come together as a team each day working to achieve something special. So from all of us Yellow Jackets, Happy Thanksgiving!

Off to a Good Start

Our team got off to a good start this weekend. We beat Elizabethtown on Saturday 71-48 and Alvernia on Sunday 99-86. All of our players saw action in both games with all 12 making contributions. On Saturday, Molly Ariail led the way with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Amanda Hiltunen also contributed 19 points. Lindsay Riesbeck and Molly Brown both had a nice impact with 8 points, 6 rebounds and 8 points, 3 rebounds respectively. Freshman Maggie Roy got her collegiate career started with 5 rebounds and 5 assists.

On Sunday, Alvernia had a strong showing with 5 players in double figures. We spread out our scoring with Amanda Hiltunen leading the way. Amanda had 30 points on 7-11 shooting along with 14-14 from the free throw line. Molly Brown contributed 13 points and Renee Stein 12 points. Jennifer O'Briant did a great job directing our team contributing 8 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists. Our well rounded effort included Molly Ariail (9 pts, 5 rebs), Lindsay Riesbeck (8 pts, 5 rebs), Taylor Wieczorek (8 pts, 6 rebs), and Maggie Roy (7 pts, 4 Assists).

We capped off the night with our annual reception at President Lindgren's house. It was wonderful to spend some time with all of our players and their families and a great way to conclude our opening weekend of play.

We have 8 days to prepare for our first conference game. We head to Virginia Wesleyan College next Tuesday in what will be a challenging start to ODAC play.

Tip-Off Time

Tomorrow is the start of our season. Our team has been working very hard and is ready to go. We open up against Elizabethtown tomorrow and Alvernia on Sunday. Both are from Pennsylvania. We finished practice this afternoon and are going to have a team dinner this evening. The excitement and a little nervousness has been building throughout the week. We are ready to go!

PreSeason #1

The ODAC's preseason rankings were released this morning during the women's basketball media day and we are at the top of the poll. It is an honor that our coaching colleagues ranked us first in the preseason poll, but it's who is at the top at the end of the season that truly counts. The conference will be competitive as ever this year. Three teams are returning their starting lineups from last season and many of last year's conference standouts are returning with more experience this season.

We will continue to work hard to prepare ourselves for our tough ODAC schedule. Only 8 days until tip-off!