First home game at the Mercy gym last night! Prior to the game, my teammates told me that for home games, the “Eye of the Tiger” plays as we are called out for the game. They talked about how pumped everyone would get because let’s be honest, that is a great song and that beat can motivate anyone to do anything! And it suits us since we are the Wildcats (so do the High School Musical songs, maybe we will add those to our warmup too lol). When the song started, I did refrain myself from dancing because I had to focus lol, but man was I excited to play! Not only because it was our first home game in the Mercy gym and the crowd was fantastic, but also it was my first home game in a year and I missed that feeling of engaging with the crowd and playing hard for my team and now my new city. I was also eager to play with these girls (#SQUAD!!) again because we came off such an amazing win against Portlaoise two weeks before, so I knew we were going to turn it up again! (Not going to lie, I also wanted to get revenge on NUIG for beating us on Tuesday in our college match😅). The game tips off and we kept the lead throughout the game despite some mistakes and lapses. Even when Galway came within five points with two minutes left, we found it within ourselves to stay calm and get the stops we needed on defense and to execute offensively. In those last few minutes, it definitely tested our resilience as a team because I’ve been in so many situations where my team was unable to maintain such a small lead with a good amount of time left in the game and pull out the win. The game also helped us once again revaluate what we need to work on to get better and to continue to dominate this season. If it means more Jimmy “Pain” sessions, then bring it on!! Lol. Either way, I’m grateful to be a part of this team and to play for this city. The Wildcat fans are great, especially when you see the young kids that you coach during the week supporting you, screaming your name💜. It’s a huge motivator and the main reason why I need to improve my performance for the next time. As for our team, there is so much contribution from each of us and just the genuine care for all of us to do well on and off the court. I know this will continue and get better and I’m looking forward to it! Can’t remember the last time I started a season 3-0!! 😎
