Lady Scots bond while snowed in
After spending an entire weekend stuck in a North Carolina hotel on Jan. 22-Jan.24, the Lady Scots basketball team faced Meredith College for their twelfth conference win. However, before playing Meredith, the Lady Scots spent their weekend in a hotel trying to stay mentally prepared, warm and pass the time.
The team mainly utilized the free time indoors to study and work on homework from missed classes during their busy season. The players also made sure to spend their weekend for some creative team bonding.
“Being stuck in North Carolina at first we were all like ‘well what are we going to do?’ There was ice everywhere and so many places were shut down, but we all came together and said we were gonna’ make the most out of this experience,” said player Jordan Ballard.
During their stay, one of the players came up with the idea to have a sing-off in the hotel conference room. The teams were split into two groups, the upperclassmen versus the underclassmen, while the coaches and trainers made up the judging panel. The upperclassman gained their first victory of the weekend using their singing and dancing talent to win the Lady Scots sing-off.
“It was a ton of fun to see people come out of their shell and just a good time laughing, singing and dancing to music. It was a way to pass the time but also contribute to teamwork and bonding,” said player Linley Dunn.
The team bonding got the Lady Scots prepared for their upcoming game against Meredith College on Sunday afternoon. MC took the first half with a lead of 37-17 at the halftime. In the second half, leading scorer Mackenzie Puckett scored 11 of MC’s 20 points to gain a 57-26 lead in the third quarter. The Scots strong defensive play took over in the game and finished with a final score of 69-39.
Leading scorers for MC included Puckett with 15 points, Rachel Hawn with 10 points, Allyson Freiermuth with 9 months and Lauren Biliter with 7 points.
Among the many recent victories for the Lady Scots includes Puckett’s 18th USA South Player of the Week honor earlier this January.
“Gaining this honor means a lot just because it shows how much our team is clicking now,” said Puckett. “Getting that honor was definitely a confidence booster. It was a reminder that I can play well against good teams.”
The Lady Scots will return home to host Methodist and Greensboro Jan. 29 and Jan. 30.