DAY THREE: GAME DAY
May 5, 2006

An early morning wake up call from Erin was a great way to start the day.  After breakfast we headed to the gym for the 10:00 a.m. shoot around.  It was a session design on going over the offences, which I had a crash course in the day before, and getting some shots up to get our legs back from all the traveling.  The shoot around was very similar to ours at school as we had a couple of shooting games and a game of knockout to finish up with.  It was similar also in that the atmosphere was quite relaxed.

Upon returning to the Hotel we grabbed some lunch then headed up to the room for some rest before departing for game 1 against the Qatar National Team.

Fairly quickly, 5:15 p.m. rolled around, and we headed off to the gym for the game.  It was a tense start for both teams as we were both getting used to each other’s style of play.  After a back and forth first half, Qatar took a one-point 33-32 lead into the break.  In the second half, they lifted their defensive pressure and quickly gained a 10-point advantage, which they were able to maintain for the remainder of the game.  We ended up going down 64-52.  I was quite happy with my court time and overall play.  My role with the Wildcats will be somewhat similar to that of mine at Wesleyan.  It will take a little time for the adjustment, but I feel over time that I will fit in quite well.

After the game, we returned to the Hotel to wash up and eat.  We then headed to the Rydges Hotel and spent some time the Australian Legends bar to relax.