Bowling Green State University Athletics
Costa Rica: Day 6
August 17, 2009 | Women's Basketball
Monday (Aug. 17) was an exhausting, yet exhilarating, day for the BGSU women's basketball team. It was one of those days where, at the end of the evening, it seemed like that very morning was eons ago, if that makes sense.
PHOTO GALLERY - Monday, August 17
The Falcons' day consisted of ...
* Combining with two other college basketball teams to give free shoes to women and children;
* Checking out of their hotel in San Jose and heading several hours northwest;
* Spending the last half of that trip on one-lane roads in the mountainous region, including one occasion where the bus was behind a runaway cow and at the same time approaching an oncoming truck (note: no animals were harmed during Monday's events);
* Checking into a new hotel (Villa Blanca) and enjoying a late lunch in the hotel's restaurant, with spectacular mountaintop views;
* Heading back out, to the town of San Ramon to conduct a kids' clinic;
* Playing the team's fourth and final game of the trip, and posting a 70-point win; and
* Grabbing a late dinner and heading back up the mountain to the hotel.
Believe it or not, the wireless internet at the top of a remote mountain in Costa Rica is better than in many places in the United States. Unfortunately, at this time the lack of success in using the FTP function on the computer means that photo galleries are currently unavailable. Hopefully, this status will change, but please prepare yourselves for the possibility of no additional galleries until Thursday.
And, that's too bad, because Monday was a day that no Falcon will soon forget, and a few of the many pictures taken by a certain pseudo-photographer might have turned out OK. The team checked out of the Real Intercontinental Hotel in San Jose at 7:00 a.m. and headed back to the Liceo gymnasium for one final time. This time, instead of a practice or game, the BGSU travel party combined with the IUPUI and Bethune-Cookman men's basketball teams to hand out free Crocs to women and children in the San Jose area. As the teams helped set up for the event, folks lined up outside the arena well before the scheduled 9:00 a.m. start time.
Members of the travel party performed a myriad of duties during the event, handed out a lot of shoes and helped put a smile on the faces of some underprivileged folks in the San Jose area.
From there, the team headed to the San Ramon area, making a quick stop for souvenirs, then checked into their mountaintop hotel. After lunch at the hotel, the team headed to a gymnasium in San Ramon, arriving just in time for the start of the clinic. Assistant coaches Jennifer Roos (yes, we know; she's the associate head coach), Brandi Poole and Kevin Eckert each took four BGSU student-athleres and set up stations. The group led by Roos taught defensive drills, with Roos getting expert assistance from Tara Breske, Sarah Clapper, Maribeth Giese and Jessica Slagle.
Poole's group, which included Chelsea Albert, Laura Bugher, Maggie Hennegan and Kelly Zuercher, worked primarily on shooting. Eckert's station, with help from Jen Uhl, Tracy Pontius, Lauren Prochaska and Tamika Nurse, taught ballhandling skills. The three groups of local children spent 15 to 20 minutes at each of the stations. Despite the language barriers, the team members taught the native children a few new things about the game of basketball, and all parties involved had wide smiles on their faces.
The clinic was capped by the BGSU players taking part in a game of 'knockout,' from which Bugher emerged victorious. With an hour between the end of the clinic and the scheduled start of the team's game, there was plenty of time to continue to interact with the kids and sign a few autographs.
And, when the game started nearly half an hour late, there was even more time.
Once the game began, the Falcons scored the first eight points en route to a 94-24 win over a local club team. The Brown and Orange led by a 32-13 score after the first quarter, then proceeded to score the first 20 points of the second quarter before the home team finally scored in the final minute.
BG's lead was 55-16 at the half and 74-18 after three periods. The game featured four 10-minute periods, with a running clock used for the entire contest.
Nurse led the Falcons with 21 points -- including three of the Falcons' nine three-pointers on the evening -- and added five assists. Prochaska and Uhl scored 13 points apiece, and Pontius had a double-double, with 11 points and 10 assists. She had seven helpers in the first quarter alone.
Clapper scored eight points, with Albert, Breske and Bugher adding six apiece. Hennegan and Zuercher each scored five points in the game.
After a quick dinner in town, it was time to venture back up the mountain on the narrow, winding roads -- this time in the dark. Fortunately, Edgar, the team's bus driver for the duration of the trip, is a master of his profession, and the trip was without incident. Several members of the team quickly popped into the main building to get on the internet and check their email or Facebook accounts, before heading off to their respective casitas. With no televisions in the rooms (we're not complaining, we're just stating a fact), there should be precious few distractions to keep everyone from getting a good night's rest.
Tuesday will be another eventful day on this once-in-a-lifetime trip, with a zipline/canopy excursion the highlight of the team's plans. Look for an update (and maybe, just maybe, a photo gallery) on Tuesday night.
UPDATE: As of Thursday night, Aug. 20, the photo gallery is now available at the top of the page.
