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Game 3 vs.team from Munich Thursday, June 2, 2011   We had a pretty good day leading up to our 3rd and final game on our European tour! We toured the city , by bus and foot and then headed for our game in the late afternoon. My goal for this trip, besides having the opportunity to visit Europe and have fun, was to get a little bit better every game and prepare for the 2011-12 season. Our effort tonight proved we reached our goal. Our contact was Bill Bessoir, whose father coached at Scranton for many years. Bill played at Scranton, as well as in Europe. Bill currently works and coaches in Munich and was a great host...as well as his 2 children. The gym was only a few minutes away and for the first time on the trip we did not have to drive far to the game and/or sit in traffic!! Pre-game was fantastic as the players from both teams exchanged gifts and we took many pictures with the team as well. We played four 12 minute quarters, which worked to our advantage, as they started with only 8, one got hurt, so our 13 wore their 7 out!! They were very skilled and athletic, but our depth wore them down. We played a lot of different combinations and ran many players in and out throughout the game. We started slow, as they took the lead, probably never more than 6 to 8 points, but we kept with them, not allowing them to pull away. Once we settled in a bit, we took the lead in the 2nd half, and were up big ( 10 or 12 at one point). The Munich team came back strong as well to cut it to 2, but we stay focused and won by 5...I think it was 93-87. (It has been a long trip and getting the exact score is not a top priority!! Getting the time of departure for our sightseeing day tomorrrow, making sure everyone is on time and securing a team dinner for tomorrow, keeps me occupied!) I saw a lot of good things again. Ally and Hilary played well again, showing me they have matured on and off the court. Katie O. and M. made key plays down the stretch. Our running game was strong, we finished most fast break opportunities and we saw some good things as we played better defense on and off the ball. Everyone stepped up and made some great contributions throughout the game. Once October rolls around, I suspect this trip will pay off quite nicely in terms of team bonding and team chemistry. The team from Munich was better than the Austrian team, but not quite as good as the Czech team. The Czech's are tier 1, Munich's team is a tier 2 and Austria is tier 3. It was an evenly matched game and we were fortunate to hang on and pull out a W!! We went 2-1 on the trip. I would consider it a success form a basketball point of reference and I think it is obvious from the other reports, that it was a success from a non-basketball prespective!! I look forward to our last day in Munich tomorrow and will be anxious to all my friends and family back home. Guten Tag. Coach Spirk Coach Endler / 2 comments / Leave a comment |
About the Adventure When: May 26th - June 4th The women's basketball team will be playing four games including one against the U19 Czech National Team. While in Europe they will be exploring the “Golden City” of Prague; driving through majestic Alpine scenery, visiting Schonbrunn Palace; dining at a Hofbrauhaus; and experiencing notorious Dachau Concentration Camp. View trip summary (.pdf) Blog Archives |