Going to Toulouse, to Win

Gimme that. ;) Game earlier in the season.

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  This weekend, my team took its third marathon bus ride of the season. Surprisingly enough, I'm getting kind of used to spending a cruel/insane amount of time on the bus. This trip we were headed to Toulouse, or if you're measuring by number of hours on the road: we were looking at 12!

  I was excited coming into the game because I was finally feeling 100% with my ankle. I felt like my mobility was back, and I could finally play and move how I wanted. In recent weeks, I had realized just how tentative I had slowly become. Wasn't driving to the basket, crashing the boards for rebounds, or making cuts through the lane; all because I didn't feel comfortable with how my ankle was feeling and responding.

  So with my body feeling good, I was looking for a big game. Didn't quite work out that way though. While jumping up for a pass late in the first quarter, I felt a jolt go through my back and hip. Never a great feeling to have! :/ After subbing out to have the Toulouse physio work on it, I was able to finish the game. I feel like it's just a small bump in the road, and nothing too serious. I'll be fine!
 

Previous game versus Voiron.

   In our previous two road trips to southern France, we came away win-less. So our third marathon road trip was definitely a charm! Toulouse was a team at the top of the league standings, so we knew we would have to play a solid game if we were to travel back to Dunkerque with a win. I wouldn't exactly say we played a complete game, but we made just enough plays to eke-out a close win.

  We trailed most of the game as a matter of fact. It was one of those games where it felt like we were down by 15, but you looked up at the scoreboard, and we only trailed by five. Toulouse played a very tough, physical style of defense. They were aggressive, and it threw us off to start out. Luckily we managed to keep the game close while we adjusted.

Previous home game.

  The final minutes of the fourth quarter was the first time we took the lead. By switching up our defenses, Toulouse could never quite get comfortable on the offensive side of the ball. As the clock winds down, and the game gets tighter and tighter, it becomes more and more difficult to make plays when you're a little unsure where to find shots. That worked out to our advantage.

  We knocked down our free throws, and walked off the court with a four point win over second-place Toulouse.

  Big wins are cause for a big celebration. With a 12 hour ride back to Dunkerque, we took full advantage. Our bus was transformed into the party bus for a couple hours, and we savored our win with a little champagne and a little karaoke. Returning with a win in hand is always a little more fun than coming back with a loss. :)

Party bus.

  We have two games (both at home) to go until we take a couple weeks off to celebrate the holidays. I would like nothing more than to end 2011 with a four game wining streak, and hopefully springboard us into the second half of the season!

  ~ Sabrina