(Editor's note: Senior Jenni Benningfield, a 6-foot-3 forward at Vanderbilt, will share a diary with ESPN.com throughout the season.)
Dec. 31, 2003
As we left Nashville for St. Louis, Mo., our team's spirits were flying high. This was for three reasons:
1) We all had just finished a long week of exams;
2) We had the opportunity to play against a good St. Louis University team; and
3) We were heading home for a short holiday break right after the game.
However, our real challenge was to stay focused, take care of business and win a basketball game. That is exactly what we did as we beat St. Louis (71-56) in front of many of our loyal Commodore fans, family and friends who traveled to support us.
After the game, smiles, laughter and excitement filled the locker room as everyone was getting anxious to go home. As the group was hurrying to shower and readying to go to the airport, the team joined in with (senior) teammate Jutta Korkko in singing what has been a team favorite around the holidays, a catchy '80s Christmas carol called "Last Christmas I Gave You My Heart." Jutta led the performance in front of the locker room with an imaginary microphone and some solid dance moves. The coaches walked in on that scene and could not help but laugh.
When it came time to say our goodbyes, as everyone was going their separate way for a few days, freshman Katie Antony summed up everyone's thoughts and feelings at that moment by saying, "I'm going to miss everyone so much!" It was time for some well-deserved rest and relaxation. Destination: home!
The day after Christmas, we returned to Nashville to practice and prepare for the Gatorade Holiday Classic in Miami, Fla. The day back consisted of lots of stories and catching up, along with a good practice. The next day, we packed up again and headed out for Florida, where it would be sunny with temperatures in the 70s. Rough life, I know, enjoying the warm weather and playing basketball.
Going into this tournament, we all knew it was going to be a test to see where we were as a team with challenges against some solid squads. Game 1 was against Rhode Island -- a good team that played hard and physical against us for 40 minutes. It was not the prettiest game but we got the "W" with the help of Abi Ramsey, who returned to the lineup for the first time this year. She dropped a career-high 21 points and nine rebounds in a 74-61 win. I had a good night with 31 points and 13 rebounds.
After the game we watched Miami-Toledo, which Miami won, so we knew that we had our work cut out for us in the championship game. That definitely was the case as both undefeated and 10-0 teams went head to head to battle it out. Miami played great and it was a disappointing game for us, because we did not play to our potential. There was a positive, though, as one of our freshmen, Carla Thomas, was a bright spot with 18 points and eight rebounds.
As you can imagine, we were all upset at losing because it is one of the worst feelings you can have. However, our hopes are that this will be a blessing in disguise. I think we will learn from this game by understanding what our mistakes were and how to fix them. Tomorrow is a new day and another opportunity -- an opportunity we can use to get better and more importantly, an opportunity not to lose like we did in this game.
Now, it is time to refocus and work even harder for the next one.
Until next time ... GO DORES!