Email Juli your question

Well as you all know we beat Southern Mississippi and are currently in second place in conference standings. It was a team effort and a great win for our program. We leave Thursday at 8:45 to head to UCF to play. They play the same style of basketball as Southern Mississippi.

For those of you who were not at the game, what I am refering to is the charges and the run and gun style. So Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday we will be working against most of the UCF plays and defenses so as to prepare to bring home another win to our fans.

Now for more of your questions that I have received (keep it up!!):

Bill wrote:
We love this feature and your contributions. We were concerned that after losing to East Carolina and then having to ride the bus for about ten hours over Friday night and Saturday that you might be sluggish for the Marshall game. The team, however, seemed more energized that we had seen them in a long time. What was yout take on the travel schedule for that trip? We drove 830 miles from Thursday noon to Monday morning and I'm glad we don't have to do it again for two more years. Does our performance against Marshall mean that Coach Rompola will have to take you guys on a long bus ride before every game?

The travel was rather long and uncomfortable for your dear Mustang girls. Traveling is the hardest part for any road trip that we go on, that one was especially hard because of the distance in which we covered. Hopefully next year we will change from a regular bus (meaning one just with cushioned seats) to a sleeper bus (this type of bus usually has a front (with a couch, tv, and kitchen) a middle (with 18 beds) and a back (which has another couch and tv.) We are by no means deprived but this extra comfort would make sleeping and playing cards alot easier on all of us :)

You other question - No, our performance against Marshall does not mean we should make all our trips long bus rides... I think most of the Mustangs would pass out if you even mentioned this fact to them :) but this long ride did give us a chance to talk or otherwise try and sleep :)

Shane wrote:
What do you think you guys will need to do to get in the Tourney, and how do you think the girls will be next year with three key players leaving? What areas would you look to key on in recruiting? Well thanks for your time and go Ponies!

First question:
In order to go to the tourney we will need to win the championship game of our conference tournament, that's what I think. The NCAA committee looks at many different things when they choose teams into the tournament: strength of conference, strength of schedule, wins vs. losses, opponets wins vs. losses, etc. (Conferences like the SEC and the BIG 12 usually get between 5-7 bids alone.... and since there are only 64 teams that get to go that means they hold anywhere from 10-14 spots.) Thats a big percentage. So that is what we are looking at, but you never know when luck may find you.

Second question:
Just like all other 300+ schools that have seniors leaving and newbies coming in there is change involved. This change usually bring new challenges to the coaches and players but somehow most teams find a way to evolve, and this is exactly what I think the girls will do. We have really great people on this team and it will just be another stepping stone toward an end and final product. Recruiting is always important.

Well that's it for today. Thanks for you questions and be sure to tune into the game on Friday when we take on UCF and don't forget about our home game on Sunday at 2:00 pm against Tulsa who is No. 1 in conference.