Sunday, March 16, 2008
It's Time For Hoops
Spring is in the air. The snow has melted (almost), the flowers are beginning to reappear, the tree buds are evident, and basketball season is reaching its peak. For those of you who follow college basketball as fervently as I, you’ll know that the next three weeks will be stuffed with games that all have great import.
To make things more exciting at the Spanko household, Maribel, my eldest daughter, and her college basketball team begin their championship run this weekend. Her team won 16 games in conference this year, and finished in first place, so they have an excellent change of making a long run. They started the task this by winning their conference tournament. They had a difficult semi-final contest on Friday, winning by six points. Saturday, they played the second place team. They started slowly, but a flurry of points about half-way through the first half sent them on their way to a twenty-four point win. Maribel had thirty points and 14 rebounds, and received a standing ovation when she left the floor. She was also voted co-MVP of the tournament, along with her teammate and co-captain, Amber.
Following the conference contest is the NCAA Division II tournament, also known as the (Not So) Big Dance. Since it’s DII, and the ladies, there will be no national television or domed stadiums. Nonetheless, winning that is still a great accomplishment. The DII tournament is different from the one for the big schools. It is played over two weekends, not three. Sixty-four teams are chosen, and they play three rounds on the first weekend to reduce the field to eight. The following weekend, the Elite Eight, as they are called, travel to Kearney, Nebraska for the final three rounds. Although it is not always a good idea to count ones farm fowl before they hatch, we have already booked our hotel reservations in Kearney.
Maribel finished the regular season as her conference’s leading rebounder, and second leading scorer. They won most of their games by 10 points or more, including their first win in university history over a Division I school (although, sadly, not against the Big State University). It was also the first time they have won their conference tournament (they finished second last year).
So there will be lots of traveling and basketball coming up. During the down times, of course, I will be avidly watching the men’s DI college basketball playoffs, which is always a fan’s nirvana. I will be sure to keep you all up-to-date as to the results of Maribel’s games. I might even slip in a few spanking references here and there, although there may not be much spanking. And to think that Maribel was almost not allowed to play this season. But that is a story for another day.
My daughter, a champion. That would definitely be fantastic.
To make things more exciting at the Spanko household, Maribel, my eldest daughter, and her college basketball team begin their championship run this weekend. Her team won 16 games in conference this year, and finished in first place, so they have an excellent change of making a long run. They started the task this by winning their conference tournament. They had a difficult semi-final contest on Friday, winning by six points. Saturday, they played the second place team. They started slowly, but a flurry of points about half-way through the first half sent them on their way to a twenty-four point win. Maribel had thirty points and 14 rebounds, and received a standing ovation when she left the floor. She was also voted co-MVP of the tournament, along with her teammate and co-captain, Amber.
Following the conference contest is the NCAA Division II tournament, also known as the (Not So) Big Dance. Since it’s DII, and the ladies, there will be no national television or domed stadiums. Nonetheless, winning that is still a great accomplishment. The DII tournament is different from the one for the big schools. It is played over two weekends, not three. Sixty-four teams are chosen, and they play three rounds on the first weekend to reduce the field to eight. The following weekend, the Elite Eight, as they are called, travel to Kearney, Nebraska for the final three rounds. Although it is not always a good idea to count ones farm fowl before they hatch, we have already booked our hotel reservations in Kearney.
Maribel finished the regular season as her conference’s leading rebounder, and second leading scorer. They won most of their games by 10 points or more, including their first win in university history over a Division I school (although, sadly, not against the Big State University). It was also the first time they have won their conference tournament (they finished second last year).
So there will be lots of traveling and basketball coming up. During the down times, of course, I will be avidly watching the men’s DI college basketball playoffs, which is always a fan’s nirvana. I will be sure to keep you all up-to-date as to the results of Maribel’s games. I might even slip in a few spanking references here and there, although there may not be much spanking. And to think that Maribel was almost not allowed to play this season. But that is a story for another day.
My daughter, a champion. That would definitely be fantastic.
