Road to London 2012: September 2012

Friday, September 7, 2012

Semi-Final Tragedy

Wow...what a game??

There are really no words to describe our semi-final game against Australia. We had a bit of a slow start, but things picked up quickly. We battled back and forth with the Aussies for the first half, ending up tied 26-26 at the halftime buzzer.

No one expected what would come next...the third quarter hit us hard. Defensively we continued to do our job, but offensively nothing went our way. We only scored two points for the period. At the start of the fourth quarter we knew the time had come to again battle back from being down. And again we did...with about 27 seconds to go we were down by one. Desiree Miller fouled out and put Amber Merritt on the line (that's number 15 from Australia). She missed both free throws. We got the ball over half court and Rosie (our 16 year old) got the ball as she cut down the lane and took an amazing shot. Unfortunately it bounced off the rim and the referee called a shot clock violation. We lost the game by one.

Our team has fought throughout this tournament. We have battled back from the craziest of situations and we will continue to fight tonight as we go for Bronze.

For those who watched and noticed I didn't play last night...here is the update...I separated my AC joint in our game against Canada and was medically unfit to play last night. It was a difficult decision to make and hear, but ultimately I probably would have been detrimental to the team had I played. So...the loads of treatment and rest have helped and hopefully you'll see my dancing and playing in the Bronze medal game tonight...

THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT!!!

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Game 4 and Quarterfinals...

It's so terrible that I'm just getting this posted as our last two games have been ridiculously exciting. Game 4 of pool play was against China. Both teams were 2-1 at the start. We started out strong defensively, but struggled offensively...we couldn't get a shot to fall! I don't remember how far down we were at the half, but I remember that sometime in the third period we went down by 20. Many teams would have given up but we were able to battle back and in the last seconds of regulation play we tied it up to go into overtime. Never had I been a part of such a comeback...it was crazy!

We watched a new five minutes be put on the clock and and then it was back to the races. The team battled back and forth with China and finally went up by three to win...the final score was 68-65.

After a crazy game against China we met Canada in the Quarterfinals at 9:15pm. A full day of anticipation for a team we know all too well. We beat the Canadians at ParaPans in Mexico back in November by 30+, but we knew the Paralympic Games are always different...better games, better competitions, more on the line. This game proved to be such a game...we quickly went down by 11. I don't know why but we were off to a slow start again!! We pulled within 3 just before the half.

As expected the second half was a battle for the win, but we pulled ahead and won by 12 (67-55). It was the best team effort to date and I was more than pleased with the team's performance!

We see Australia tomorrow at 1pm/7am CDT...it's the Semi-final so wish us luck!!!

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Game 3- USA vs. Mexcio- REBOUNDED (Literally)

Team USA rebounded back from our loss yesterday with a big win over Mexico!! We got back to playing our game and really hammered down the fundamentals. Our press defense was back on track and our offense had a really nice flow to it. The final score was 67-33...big day for us!

We followed up our game with a quick 1 hour practice...nothing too strenuous, but we definitely jammed out to the crazy mix of Jason DeRulo, Carly Rae Jepsen, and Alabama...yep that's right!!

Tomorrow is our off day for competition so we will practice, spend time with our families, and watch our Men's Team take on Australia.

Not too much exciting going on here today...the other pool had far more to confused about...we will have to watch and see how the crossover unfolds.

Anyway...until next time...Good Night!!!

About Me- The Basics

I was born and raised in Denver, Colorado. In 1995 I became partially paralyzed when my body thought my spinal cord was a disease, attacked my nerves, and permanently damaged them. Three years later I made my first international team and I have been competing at the Paralympic level since. I competed in the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney, Australia and 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece as a swimmer, capturing a silver medal in the 100m breaststroke in Sydney and finishing 4th in Athens. From 2000-2002, I set, held, and reset the World Record in the 1500m freestyle.

In 2002, I started college at the University of Illinois Urbana- Champaign. While earning both my degrees, I was a member of the Women's Wheelchair Basketball team and helped them earn 5 National titles. In 2004, my shoulder injuries had compounded and my swimming career came to an end. However, in 2005 I was selected as a member of the USA Women's Wheelchair Basketball team and I have since competed and helped the US win silver at the 2006 World Championships, and win Gold at the 2007 and 2011 ParaPan American Games, the 2010 World Championships, and the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games.

This year will be a year of big endings and new beginnings for me...as Captain of the USA Women's Wheelchair Basketball Team I will compete in my fourth and final Paralympic Games in London. So as I count down to the end of my athletic career and the next chapter begins, I hope you'll join in the celebration, the chaos, and the fun of the Road to London!

About Me- The Truth

I believe that basketball, work, and well life in general, are supposed to be fun; that every day is an opportunity to make yourself and the world around you a bit better; and that it’s ok to take things seriously, as long as you don’t take yourself too seriously. I regularly make fun of myself and laugh at my own craziness!

I actually think basketball paints a great picture of who I am and who I strive to be. You're probably accustomed to watching a team shoot, pass, and run some speed drills during warm-up, and you’re guaranteed to see all of that with Team USA, as well. But then you’ll take another look…and you’ll likely see me, USA #11…and with a song in my head and my headphones blaring, my game prep always includes some bad dance moves and occasionally some really bad singing! And as you watch my warm-up you'll notice that I don't seem to care too much about how bad it looks or if anyone is watching…it’s not about a show... it’s all about keeping it fun and light. I joke it's not about how good you play, it's about how good you look, but in reality it's how good you feel and I believe that laughter is the best medicine and have learned over time not to take myself too seriously…so I don't, especially on the court!

Fun is instrumental to success on and off the court and with the right playlist I know anything is possible! So while I may have to apologize to our coaching staff, 4 men who over the years have listened to "Booty Wurk" probably 1,000 times and who have suffered through the 90s boy-bands over and over again...I know it works!

Despite the “unconventional” warm-up as you watch the game you’ll see the serious athlete you expect and the game deserves. It's like a complete transformation...say good-bye to the bubbly, never met a stranger personality and hello to serious competitor.

So in a nutshell...like me don't expect this Road to be too serious...but expect it to be a bit silly, definitely a bit unexpected, and an all around GOOD TIME!