Samantha Pankey's Road Diary
February 17, 2003 | Women's Basketball
Samantha Pankey is a sophomore guard on the 2002-03 ECU women's basketball team. The Dilwyn, Va., native will be checking in with ECUpirates.com throughout the weekend as the Lady Pirates travel for key C-USA games at Marquette and DePaul.
Day One: Thursday, February 13
4:11 p.m.
This morning was fairly uneventful. I had to get up and go to class (that in itself explains the uneventfulness). We've just practiced and are now on the bus eating Quizno's subs and cookies.
The funniest thing happened after practice. We were all taking showers and getting "G'ed" up for our flight and I walked out of the locker room and met Shanita (Sutton) whose whole front side was soaked in water. I mean her clothes were drenched.
"Man, I fell in the shower," she said.
I just burst out laughing. I had almost fallen myself, and the thought of her falling was hilarious to me.
Well, Melissa (Kolbe) just put "Ace Ventura" (which is the best movie of all time) into the VCR. So, I gotta go.
7:38 p.m.
We're on the plane now, slightly behind schedule. "Ace Ventura" was very good, even though I slept through the last 30 minutes of it. There are barely 50 people on this plane, so everyone has plenty of room. I'm trying to do a little studying, because I have two tests on Monday and I'll miss the review sessions which are on Friday. I can hear Rook's (LaToya Horton) voice off in the distance. Her voice travels. She'll probably talk the whole flight. But, that's just Rook.
12:08 a.m.
Well, we are finally in the room! We had to wait forever for the bus after we got off the plane. Some of us watched "Undercover Brother" on the bus; others of us (me) slept. According to those who stayed up, I didn't miss anything. It's sleepy time now, so, good night.
10:15 a.m.
We just ate breakfast and have to be on the bus at 10:35 for shoot-around. Breakfast was under par, especially for Valentine's Day. Happy Valentine's Day, by the way. The highlight of the morning thus far was the honeydew melon, which tells you how good breakfast was. Well, I have to get my practice uniform on now.
4:21 p.m.
We had shoot-around and that went well. I think everyone is pumped for the game. The day is getting better too. CW (Courtney Willis) gave everyone Spree Valentine's hearts. She is so nice. She even gave some hearts to a couple of strangers. That's good ole Southern hospitality for you.
We ate our pregame meal at Friday's. The food was pretty good, but the conversation was better. Jen (Jackson) scared the... well you know what.... out of Melissa. It was so funny. Then, there was Kris (May-Richardson) falling before we got into the restaurant, and after we left. The best part of the meal was the fact that this particular Friday's is inside the Milwaukee Brewers' stadium. That was really cool.
We have to get ready for the game now. So, wish us luck!
10:27 p.m.
The game is over, and we lost. Our defense wasn't good at all tonight. We need to play hard for 40 minutes. If we do that (on both ends of the floor) then we will win.
We ate at Dairy Queen after the game. Some people got sandwiches from a place called Jim's. The mood was gloomy, as it always is after a loss. We need to come out and practice hard tomorrow so that we will be prepared for DePaul.
Well, I'm going to shower and hit the books before I go to bed.
Day Three: Saturday, February 15
11:28 a.m.
We're on the bus traveling to Chicago, which is the Windy City. No movies for us today. We are watching the game tape from last night. Hopefully, we will be able to learn from our mistakes. It was snowing a little this morning, but I don't see any now. I think it is supposed to be snowing in Chicago. We'll see when we get there.
2:25 p.m.
We got to the hotel about 20 minutes ago. Shanita and I are rooming together tonight. Chicago certainly lives up to its name (The Windy City). We have practice at 4:00. We have to pick ouselves up from the loss last night and prepare for tomorrow. I'm going to hit the books before we leave.
10:10 p.m.
We got back from the ESPN Zone and hung out in Tali (Robich) and CW's room for a while. The ESPN Zone was great if you are a sports fan, but if you're a food fan, don't go there. We were not impressed with the food.
Chicago is quie an impressive city (what I saw of it). It's a little windy, but it's nice. I think I am going to do a little studying now, then go to sleep and dream of a win tomorrow. Shanita says "Nite, nite."
12:00 p.m.
We're on the bus now heading to DePaul's gym. We woke up at
9:40 this morning and ate breakfast, which was pretty good. I think
everyone is ready to go out and play hard for 40 minutes today. If we
do that, then there is a good chance that we'll come away with a win.
WISH US LUCK!!
4:39 p.m.
This trip may be the worst. I don't mean to be a pessimist, but
it really hasn't been the best road trip. For starters, we lost again
today. Our defense needs to improve if we want to do well. We can't
let teams score whenever they want.
Now, we're probably going to have to stay here an extra night, because Raleigh is getting ice. So, we'll probably miss class tomorrow. This is bad, because a few of us have tests, and we don't want to get behind. However, it will give us some extra time to study, but we would all rather stay the night in Greenville.
Hopefully, we'll be able to learn from our experiences on this trip (the losses being the main thing). If there's anything that's certain in life it is that life is not meant to cater to our every need. It is meant to push and bend us, so that we will not break when times get tough.
7:53 p.m.
We're in O'Hare airport now waiting to fly into Atlanta. We're
going to fly into Atlanta then bus to Greenville. We ate at Chili's
before we got here. You can never go wrong at Chili's. Their gravy is
the best. Everyone was really hungry and used all of the money we were
given.
The airport has been entertaining so far. Everyone is still feeling bad about the loss, but Natasha, our SID, has tried to lighten the mood. In the airport, out in the open, she hid behind a blanket that CW and Sue were holding and changed her skirt. The blanket didn't provide her with much cover, because it was pretty obvious what she was doing.
Well, since we're going to miss class tomorrow I'm going to catch up on my studies right now.
1:00 a.m.
We just arrived at the Ramada in Atlanta. We had to stand out
in the cold and wait for our shuttle that carried us here. The shuttle
was crowded too. Once, when the shuttle lurched forward, Natasha flew
(some feet) into a complete stranger. Everyone seems to be feeling a
little better now. We're ready to get back to Greenville, though.
We'll leave at 7 a.m. and, hopefully, get back around 3:30 p.m. Right
now, I'm going to get some rest before we leave.
7:00 a.m.
We're on the bus now, ready to leave. We'll probably eat some
breakfast soon, but I think everyone is going to catch some Z's now.
1:05 p.m.
We just ate lunch at McDonald's and are back on the bus now. We
all got some good rest in between breakfast, which was also at
McDonald's, and now. Melissa just put "Signs" in the VCR. I don't think
that anyone will sleep through this one. Well, I guess we'll be in
Greenville in about two hours.
3:43 p.m.
We're in Greenville now. This may not have been the best road
trip ever, but it was definitely the longest. We're going to make the
most of what is left of our day off, then go to practice tomorrow and
get back on the right track.
