Wilmington Hands OU its first loss of the '07-'08 Campaign

If the undefeated season must come to an end, then I'm glad it ended in the fashion it did on Sunday night. You might say, "We lost by 10, and gave up a double digit lead in the final 15 minutes, how is that a good loss?" I'm not saying it's a good loss, but the lady Petrels have to be walking away with a lot of confidence after that loss. The effort Sunday was awesome; both teams wanted nothing less than a victory, unfortunately Wilmington owned the lead when time expired. The lady Petrels must keep in mind that they lost to a really good Wilmington team. But here is why I'm still confident even after suffering our first loss of the '07-'08 campaign; we could've easily won. I'm not gonna say we should've won because Wilmington is every bit as good as we are, but if we shoot a little better in the second half we win the game. If you look at the box score and see a 1-18 from 3pt land in the second half you may conclude that OU was just jacking 3's from anywhere, but they weren't. We had some great looks at the basket in the second half and the shots just didn't fall, you can't fault the Ladies for that. Sometimes the shots just don't fall, all I can say is it just wasn't our night.

I guess I'm still so confident about our team because I don't think we played our best game and we still controlled the game for about 30 minutes. It's not as if we played above and beyond our norm and still lost to Wilmington; we just sputtered some down the stretch and couldn't hang on to the victory. I know we can play better and we're gonna get stronger as the season rolls forward. You do have to give the Lady Quakers a lot of credit, they played really hard and never gave up even when they got down by 13 or so (I could be off some on the point spread here) early in the second half. We have to put this one behind us; no more talking about the could haves and should haves.

This coming weekend is a big weekend of SCAC basketball as we take on Centre Friday night in Danville and then DePauw Sunday afternoon in Greencastle, and for those who follow SCAC basketball you know how tough conference play on the road can be, especially when playing in Greencastle. It's time to focus on conference play! 10-0 would have been great, but I'm not gonna complain with a 9-1 mark and I don't think that any of the lady Petrels, coaches, or fans will truly be complaining about a 9-1 record right now.

'tis the season'...for some Great B-Ball Action

The first semester has pretty much come to an end; some have finished all their exams, some still have some testing to go but the Lady Petrels still have three games left before the New Year. I know some of you are going to go home for the entirety of the holiday break, but for those of you who live in the Atlanta area or can make it to the games over the break I strongly encourage you to do so. There is going to be some great basketball action over the next couple of weeks and one game in particular that a true Petrels fan can't afford to miss. In case you're just tuning in to the Lady Petrels 2007-2008 basketball season I'll give you a quick update; they're undefeated (7-0), ranked #19 in the nation according to D3hoops.com, they have an average margin of victory of almost 24 points, and they're fun to watch.

All three of the Petrels remaining games before the New Year will take place at home in the cozy confines of the Dorough Field House. On Saturday December 15th (as in tomorrow) at 2PM the Lady Petrels will take on the Lady Monarchs of Methodist University. The Monarchs were the Petrels opening night opponent up in Emory, Virginia that received a 36 point whooping from the Lady Petrels. So you may think that this game is a gimme, but Methodist is going to be looking for revenge and they are currently sitting at 4-1 on the year and will be bringing a 4 game winning streak into the Dorough Field House. Additionally, I don't think Methodist played up to their potential during the first match up. I do believe their winning streak will end tomorrow, but I'm expecting an entertaining game. For those hardcore Petrel fans I highly suggest that after the Lady Petrels finish taking care of business you head over the campus of Emory University to watch the men avenge last weeks loss to cross-town rival Emory at 7PM. Then take a break from basketball, go home, visit your family, have yourself a Merry Little Christmas and get ready for what will be two exciting post-Christmas Holiday tournament hosted by Oglethorpe.

On Saturday December 29, the Lady Petrels will take on the Lady Maroons of Roanoke College in what will be the first ever women's basketball match up between theses two schools. The Maroons will come in with a record of 4-2 and they will be coming in on a 24 day layoff, so I'll bet they're gonna be excited and pumped about playing again. Let's welcome the Maroons with some good 'ole fashioned Dorough Delinquent hospitality. Additionally, the Oglethorpe Men's team will play just prior to the women's game at 6PM versus the Dolphins of Mount Saint Vincent College from Riverdale, New York. If you can't make either of these games on Saturday I'll let you off the hook. However, if you miss Sunday's games then you're gonna miss some really exciting basketball action.

Mark your calendars folks and clear the whole day on Sunday December 30th for some great basketball action. At 6PM the #19 ranked Lady Petrels will be taking on the #22 ranked Wilmington College Quakers, the team that sent our beloved Lady Petrels home in the first round of last year's National Tournament. There is a good chance that both teams will hold a higher national ranking come tip-off on the 30th. The Lady Quakers are currently 7-1 with their only loss coming to #10 ranked Thomas More. This match up will be exciting and the Lady Petrels are gonna need the Petrel Nation to show up in force; I want a standing room only type of crowd. The Men's team will also be in action Sunday versus either Christopher Newport or Trinity (Connecticut) as their tournament does not have set match-ups for the Sunday games (Saturday's two winners will play each other on Sunday and Saturday's two losers will play each other on Sunday) so the time for their game will be determined Saturday night. They will either play just prior to the Lady Petrels or will directly follow the Lady Petrels (4PM or 8PM). These games will also be our chance to steal the National spotlight and gain some true National recognition as Pat Coleman, the creator and administrator of D3hoops.com will be in attendance as part of his "Southern Hospitality Tour". This is a tour that OU Men's Head Basketball Coach Phil Ponder has played a big role in orchestrating. Pat will be reporting on various D-III games throughout Georgia and Alabama. He is set to see 11 games in five days. So let's show Pat how the Petrel Nation lives and how loud and entertaining games at Dorough Field House can be. Pat will be at all four games played at Dorough Field House on the 30th.

Finally, if Sunday doesn't get you your fill of Lady Petrels Hoops then I strongly suggest you stop by the Dorough Field House on Monday December 31st and support the Lady Petrels with "The Stormin' Petrel Shoot-A-Thon Fund Raiser." The following is a message from Women's Head Basketball Coach Ron Sattele concerning the aforementioned fundraiser:

"Help send the Stormy Petrels to Italy in May. On December 31, New Year’s Eve, the Sea Pigeons will line up at the foul line and shoot free throws, Thousands of them. Each player will have an opportunity to make 1,000 foul shots. All you OU fans can be a part of this fund raiser. Choose your player (or choose all of them) and for each made shot you pledge to pay that player the amount you pledge. Could be a penny per made shot or it could be a quarter or a dollar. You decide. All the players have sign up sheets. I know the players will be hitting up all their relatives and close buddies but I know some of you out there will want to be a part of the fun. Just e-mail me (RSattele@oglethorpe.edu) with the amount you want to pledge and who you pledge it too. The trip is part of the Studies Abroad Program at Oglethorpe headed by Prof. Collins who will join us and guide us. The girls will keep a journal and write a final paper and receive course credit for the trip and hopefully play a little bball along the way. This trip should be a life altering experience for these great young women. I know most of you have enjoyed watching this special group of student/athletes compete. Now you have the opportunity to REALLY show your appreciation and support this fund raiser."

Enjoy the holidays and I hope to see everyone at the upcoming hoops games this holiday season!

Sloppy, but Victorious

The Lady Petrels have made it through another week of the season and their record remains unblemished. Sitting at 7-0, the Petrels have gotten off to one of the best starts in school history. But I'm gonna be greedy, I want more! I'm not just talking about extending this unbeaten streak; I'm talking about the level of intensity during the games. Both games this past week have left me with an uneasy feeling in my stomach. Yes, we came away with two victories against two in-state rivals. However, the Lady Petrels often didn't look like the team that is currently 7-0 and ranked 25th in both the USA Today/ESPN poll and the D3hoops.com poll. To be honest, they looked tentative at times and against two teams that I expected them to beat that's not a good thing.

I understand that every game is not going to be the team's "A" game, but it can be the team's "A" effort. Don't misinterpret what I'm saying, both games were not played effortless, in fact, the second half against Emory was some of the best basketball the Lady Petrels have played all season, but did it have to wait until the second half? There were just some extended moments in both games where we looked flat. We're not going to sneak up on anybody, teams know that we are a good team and they know that they have to come out playing hard from the start if they are going to have a chance to win. Physically, we are not the biggest or strongest team but effort and intensity have been the hallmark of this Lady Petrels team the past couple of seasons, and that is what has made them such a tough and competitive team.

The bottom line is that the Lady Petrels got two more wins this past week and they remain undefeated on the season. Maybe the scary thing is that the Petrels are still getting the desired results even while not playing their best basketball. This is a very talented and capable team, and I still expect big things from them this season. Keep up the good work ladies!

My child is going to Beat the Crap out of Your Honor Student!

Yes, it's that time of the year again as the Emory Eagles will grace us with their presence tomorrow night at Dorough Field House. This cross-town rivalry is always a fun event, especially when the good guys win. As an Oglethorpe grad and former basketball player I know how much this game means to our teams and students. It seems that Oglethorpe often lives in the shadow of Emory here in Atlanta, and this game gives us our chance to cast our shadow over the Eagle Nation. This match up always reminds me of Rocky IV, there's the well funded Soviet (Emory) with all of the training facilities and amenities you can imagine and then there's Rocky (Oglethorpe), the little guy who's always having to prove himself; he works his butt off and uses determination and desire to succeed; it's the Oglethorpe way.

I have a personal dislike for Emory for various reasons, but one Oglethorpe vs. Emory moment stands out for me. It was a nice spring night a couple of years ago and Emory and Oglethorpe were battling it out on the baseball diamond. A few Emory Students who made it over to OU for the game decided to head out early. As they passed by the loveable OU fans that were camped out above the right field wall, they decided to make some snide remarks about the struggling OU baseball team. Before I go any further with the story, in case you don't know, the OU fans that hang out above the right field wall are not the fans you want to incite. So after these pompous Emory students put in their two cents about OU athletics, a Petrel fan retaliated with some verbiage of his own, a comment that skipped over cleverness and went straight to the down right personal attack you that you expect from the right field wall fans. It went something like "Nice shnozz beak face," as the student did have a large nose, to which one Emory Student replied "It's all right, it's okay, you're gonna pump our gas some day" (a chant I hadn't heard since my high school days). As the Emory students high-fived and congratulated each other on what they thought was a masterful and clever insult, I realized that these students truly considered OU to be inferior to the "Evil Empire" that is Emory.

Now I'm not gonna sit around and be treated like someone’s little sibling; I'm tired of playing second fiddle to Emory so tomorrow night when the Eagles make their way into Dorough Field House to tango with our #25th ranked Lady Petrels I hope our ladies give them the beating of the year. I'm demanding the presence of the Dorough Delinquents. I'm not trying to incite any riots, so Delinquents please keep the comments respectful and cleverness is always a plus but cheer your asses off, make the Eagles envious of our fans, and let's assist the Lady Petrels in staying undefeated on the season. The crowd Friday night vs. BSU was awesome, but I know we can do even better. I'm challenging the Petrel Nation to make an appearance like they've never made before, help our ladies send Emory home completely defeated, wishing they had never picked up a basketball before.

Here's a little message for Emory and their fans; when you're on your way home completely defeated tomorrow night, and you try to make yourself feel better by saying something like, oh I don't know..."It's all right, it's okay, they're all gonna pump our gas some day," just remember that we're a bunch of honor students too.