Viola Cooper Road Diary: Day Two
January 17, 2004 | Women's Basketball
Viola Cooper is a junior guard on ECU's 2003-04 women's basketball team. One of the top scorers on the team, Cooper shares her thoughts as the Lady Pirates travel to take on Tulane and Southern Miss in conference play...
"Today is Friday and it is game day. We don't normally do a lot of exciting things, because the coaches want us to stay focused on the game. So here is my diary for Jan. 16, 2004."
9:15 a.m. - We had wake up call.
9:30 a.m. - Team breakfast in the hotel. There was not a lot of talking this morning. I can only think that we were still tired and grumpy from yesterday's travel day.
10:10 a.m. - After breakfast we all went down to coach Baldwin-Tener's room to watch some film of Tulane. Coach wanted us to see what they do on the floor. The night before, we got our scouting report, so we knew what to expect. But this gave us a chance to actually see on film how they play, and in the long run this helps us.
11:00 a.m. - Went to Fogleman Arena for shoot around. We kind of did a walk through and didn't go through a hard practice. I think the coaches were trying to save our energy for tonight. We got a lot of shots in and free throws in, and went over a little of the game plan.
12:00 p.m. - Arrived back at the hotel. Melissa, one of the assistant coaches, gave us two free hours to do what we wanted. So a small group of us went over to the River Walk Mall, which was across the street from the hotel, to do a little shopping.
2:45 p.m. - We headed to an Italian restaurant for lunch. The food was okay. It was an adventure to say the least. When we get togther, we like to joke around with one another, and today was no different.
4:00 p.m. - Finished up lunch and went back to the hotel. We had about an hour and a half so we just all went to our rooms to relax and watch some television. So of the girls took naps.
5:15 p.m. - Left the hotel for the game. We followed the same routine that we have done for each game, which is stretching and shooting. Coach went over all Tulane's plays again, finalizing who was going to guard who, and we went over our game plan to bring home another Lady Pirate victory.
7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. - Game Time. We didn't play that well, but we got the win and now are 12-4 overall and still undefeated in conference play. After the game, we were pretty happy with the win, because Tulane was ranked No. 6 in the preseason Conference USA polls. Before the game, coach told us a little story about Tulane. I really can't say much about it, but let's just say that it pumped us up.
9:00 p.m. - Left the arena and went to get some dinner. We pulled into a Popeye's parking lot, and had a choice between Popeye's Chicken and Biscuits and Wendy's. So the team split up and went their own way to grab dinner to go for the bus.
9:30 p.m. - We are now back at the hotel. I am a little exhausted from the game, but happy about the win. I about to take a shower before lights out at 11:00 p.m.
11:00 p.m. - Well it's time to go to sleep. I know the team will sleep better after the WIN tonight, and I hope you will to. Good night Pirate fans.
