LOGAN, Utah – The Utah State women's basketball team went on a tour of Cozumel, Mexico, from August 10-18, where the Aggies played local teams, participated in various clinics and toured the Island of Cozumel. At the conclusion of each day, Aggie players recapped the day's events.
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Saturday, August 10
Sup guys, this is Taylor Franson giving you the play-by-play for today. It's a good one, so buckle up.
We had to meet up on campus to catch our bus at 4:15 a.m., which is early-early. But, low and behold, the bus just… didn't show up? So, we had to all drive our own cars down to the airport in order to catch our fight to Dallas. We nailed it though and made it to Salt Lake with time to spare. No one fell asleep at the wheel, so that's the first win of the day.
To give you an idea of how tired we were, there was a code red (as in someone needed oxygen and serious medical attention) on our first flight, and I slept through it. Actually, several of us slept through it.
We got to Dallas and had to rush to make our connecting flight cause we had less than an hour layover. That's where we found out the bus driver thought he was picking us up at 4 p.m. instead of 4 a.m., so good times all around. But, we got on our flight and were on our way to Mexico.
We land in Cozumel and get off the airplane and immediately feel like we're in a swimming pool because it is so humid. But, we can't complain because this is one of the most insanely beautiful places I've ever seen. We get to our resort and I'm staring at everything because it's all so beautiful. For some of the girls on our team, this is their first time outside of the United States, and I've got a feeling this trip will be everything and more than they could have imagined.
We went to the buffet, and that didn't disappoint either. Good food left and right, and even better ice cream. I am unashamed that I ate maybe more than one serving of it… okay, maybe three or four, but, hey, how often do you get to come to Cozumel with some of your best friends and hoop it up for a week? We are living for this. Not to mention, we're all a little slap-happy from the lack of sleep. It's already a great time, and I know we're in for a real treat out here.
Last but not least, we had our first official team meeting. Not gonna lie, having a meeting on that beach with the sun setting behind coach has got to be the coolest meeting we've ever had. I mean the sky was welcoming us for sure. It's like, "What's up guys? Better be ready for this week cause I'm pulling out all the stops."
We talked about being an ambassador for our school, for ourselves and for women's basketball. The idea that there is some kid on the island who is going to look up to me and the girls standing next to me by the end of this week is a pretty indescribable feeling. I know I've got a pair of shoes that I'm ready to hand to the little girl who needs them. And, maybe one day, when she's in the WNBA or playing in college or whatever, she'll think of me. That's what this means to me. The opportunity to be an ambassador and maybe plant a seed in someone that grows. It's only the first day here, but I know that this week is going to be special.
GO AGGIES!
Sunday, August 11
Hey Aggies! It's Lindsey Jensen-Baker. Today we woke up at 7:30 a.m., and had our first meeting with Roxanne for team bonding. She made us come up with a creative way to introduce ourselves. We had a lot of down time so we swam in the ocean and hung around the pool. We played water volleyball and made new friends. The games were very competitive. The food here is amazing and all the people are so friendly. My teammates and I took cute pictures with each other and enjoyed the sun. The coaches clinic was awesome, and it was super cool to see coaches show up and simply want to learn more about the game of basketball.
Monday, August 12
Hey Aggies! It's Kamalu Kamakawiwo'ole Today my roommate, Steph, and I got up at 7:20 a.m. to meet with Roxanne for team bonding on the beach. We talked about our goals for the team and our individual goal that would help us accomplish this goal. Then we went snorkeling and kayaking down at the beach for an hour or two. Then I went back to the room to sleep till 5 p.m. just in time to leave for the kids clinic. Today was really fun, especially seeing and meeting kids that enjoy and have the love for basketball.
Tuesday, August 13
Hey Aggies! This is Emma Dudley with today's recap of our incredible Mexico trip. This morning, we woke up to meet as a team with Roxanne by the beach. Today we talked about different situations and how we would handle them in our small groups. One scenario was about being stranded in the desert and which tools we would choose if we only got three. Another was about how we would respond to a hostage situation and who would play what role in saving people. Each group had similar responses, but it was interesting to see who played what role in making the decisions. Roxanne revealed to us at the end of our meeting that these all relate back to risk taking and Coach Fink's philosophy on "high risk, high reward." We discussed how selling out when we play leads to great results and that you will never be great by playing it safe. After this, we stuffed ourselves at breakfast and headed to Punta Morena, to see a lighthouse built by the Mayans thousands of years ago. It had an incredible view and it was amazing to learn how advanced these people were. We then headed down to a beach nearby to swim and relax in beachside hammocks for a couple of hours before it was time to get ready for the game.
Instantly upon arrival at the game, we were greeted by people excited to watch us play. The gym was full of people waving and smiling at us eager to watch. Playing in the game was unlike any game I have played in. Due to the humidity, the floor felt like we were playing on ice, but we finished the game winning 104-33. After, we took thousands of pictures and gave a million sweaty hugs. The people were so hospitable and loving, it made the game something that I will never forget.
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Utah State posted a 104-33 victory over Seleccion Quintana Roo in its first game of the tour on Tuesday.
All 13 Aggies split time evenly on the floor.
Sophomore guard Shyla Latone led the Aggies with 16 points. Five other Aggies scored in double figures as senior guard/forward Hailey Bassett had 13 points, senior forward Marlene Aniambossou had 12, sophomore guard Steph Gorman had 12, senior guard Lindsey Jensen-Baker 11 and freshman guard Kamalu Kamakawiwo'ole had 10.
Redshirt sophomore guard/forward Taylor Franson had six points, junior guard Emmie Harris had five points and freshman guard Elli Emrich had three points. Redshirt sophomore center Laura Daulton, sophomore forward Emma Dudley and freshman guard Faith Brantley rounded out the scoring with two points apiece.
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Wednesday, August 14
Hey Aggies! It's Steph Gorman. Today we started with our usual leadership meeting with Dr Roxanne Long where we discussed goals. Then we went to breakfast. Kamalu had her usual 20 boxes of cereal (she actually had six, but still). Next we left the resort and made our way to Chankanaab where we got to swim with dolphins! It was one of the coolest things we have ever experienced. The dolphins picked us up with the tip of their noses and flung us out of the water. We spent the rest of our time at Chankanaab by snorkeling at the reefs there.
Our next excursion of the day was a kids clinic at one of the schools on the island. We taught the kids offensive, defensive and ball handling skills. Everything was running smoothly until Coach Ben upset a huge swarm of Mexican bees (okay, not really). The bees came at us from everywhere. You know when people tell you to stand still and the bees will leave you alone? It's a lie. These bees attacked everyone. Our Mexican friend, Luis Palomino, got stung 22 times while he was trying to help everyone else get the bees away from them. The ambulance came to fix anyone who got stung and no one was seriously injured.
We finished off the day with dinner at a restaurant at the resort and got some sleep to get ready to play against Guadalajara.
Thursday, August 15
Hey Aggies! It's Shyla Latone. Today, we had our practice in the morning. After practice, we went to a nice restaurant and had some amazing Mexican tacos! Our team met Guadalajara while we were at the restaurant. The mayor showed up and said a few words and then we took a group picture in front of the Cozumel sign. Fast forward to tonight, we played Guadalajara and took a dub! 102-49.
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The Aggies won their second game of the tour, 102-49, in the first of two matchups against the Guadalajara team on Thursday.
Kamakawiwo'ole led the Aggies with 15 points, while Gorman had 12 points. The three Aggie seniors rounded out USU's double-figure scoring as Aniambossou and Jensen-Baker had 11 points, while Bassett had 10.
Latone had nine points, while Dudley had eight. Harris and freshman guard Jocelyn Polansky had six points apiece.
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Friday, August 16
Hey Aggies! Its Elli Emrich. Today, we had almost the whole day free for time for ourselves. The day started as usual with Roxanne and our team meeting at 8 a.m. We spent the day in the city to get some souvenirs. We went to a lot of shops and had a lot of fun interacting with the people over there. After that, we went back to the hotel to eat lunch. After lunch, we had some free time to hang out at the beach or the pool. In the evening, we played for the second time against Guadalajara and we won again.
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Utah State went undefeated in its tour of Cozumel after a 76-52 victory over Guadalajara on Friday.
The Aggies were led by Bassett with 15 points, Latone with 12, and Dudley with nine.
Three Aggies scored seven points each in Aniambossou, Jensen-Baker and Gorman. Harris and Brantley each scored six points.
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Saturday, August 17
Alright guys, it's your girl Taylor back to round up the trip. Saturday was our basketball free day. We "graduated" in the morning from our program with Dr. Roxanne. The ceremony involved us walking into the ocean in our jerseys and then walking out and putting on new shirts to show that this season all of us Aggies are gonna be "ALL IN".
Then we headed to Mr. Sanchos, which is like a water park complete with blow up tramps and huge white blowup things you can jump off of. The owner was an amazing host who let us jet ski and ride around the island in a little boat and provided us with unlimited strawberry daiquiris (no alcohol of course). At least half the girls got sunburnt, and Emma failed epically at a back flip but it was definitely an amazing day.
And then we ended the day at the hotel where we met at a team to discuss our favorite memories from the trip. We talked about how much the people of Cozumel touched us with their love for us. We talked about killer bees and how this trip will help us meet our goals as a team.
This week has been amazing for us. There are things that we experienced that just can't be put into words in these recaps. We have all developed such love for the people here who embraced us and we grew together as a team. I know this is something that we're going to remember for the rest of our lives.
I did give away those shoes, and in return I was given an unbelievable amount of love from the city of Cozumel. That's pretty priceless if you ask me.
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Fans can follow USU women's basketball on Twitter, @USUWBasketball, on Insta-gram, @USUWBasketball, as well as on Facebook, at /USUWBB. Aggie fans can also follow Utah State Athletics on Twitter, @USUAthletics, on Instagram, @USUAthletics and on Facebook at /USUAthletics.
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