WBB Canada Foreign Tour Blog

During the women's basketball team's trip to Canada, members of the 2016-17 squad will be blogging daily updates.

Day One - Arrival in Montreal
LaTecia Smith and Kaela Hilaire

(Saturday, Aug. 6) - Hey Pirate fans! My name is LaTecia Smith and Montreal has been a very exciting experience so far. Today was our first day out here and it could not have been any better. Once I walked out the airport, I felt as if I was in another world. The atmosphere and energy around here is so different from back home. The architecture of the buildings and the roads and streets are all beautiful. Once we got to the hotel we were welcomed by very nice people. The rooms were beautiful. I am on the 9th floor with Skyler Snider, one of our freshmen. Our room has a very pretty view of the city! The best part of my day today was when I went to McDonald's to grab a snack. Once I ordered my food, I paid with American money and received Canadian money back. The money was sort of similar to the money in the United States. I plan to save my Canadian ten dollar bill as a souvenir. Dinner was also amazing today as well. The food isn't much different from back home, so I really enjoyed my meal. The first day in Montreal has been great! I loved the atmosphere and all of the beautiful buildings. I even received Canadian money for the first time! I can't wait to see what else Canada has in store for me!

Hey Pirate fans, I'm Kaela Hilaire and I'm one of the freshmen on the team this year. Today was the first day of the international tour. We got on the bus for 4:45 this morning. Some of us fell asleep checking our bags at the airport! When we arrived in Canada we were planning to go to the beach but some of us ended up going to the pool and stopped by Peel Pub to grab a burger! It was a good first meal out in Canada. After lunch, we walked around Montreal a bit and saw a few of their parks where they were having little events outside. For dinner we went to famous Montreal rotisserie St. Hubert's and it was great! Dessert was the best part. Excited for the next few days and games!

Day Two - First practice and Old Montreal
Claire Lundberg and Jayla Jones-Pack

(Sunday, Aug. 7) - Hello Pirate fans! Greetings from Montreal. My mame is Claire Lundberg and I am going to try and describe for you some of today’s very fun events. We stared off the day with a breakfast buffet in the hotel restaurant. They had a huge variety of food from fruit, oatmeal and french toast to waffles and eggs. After breakfast we headed off to practice at Brebeuf College, which was about twenty minutes from our hotel. Everyone was very energized and ready to go during practice so we were able to get a lot done and be set to go for our first game tomorrow. Later in the day, we went over to Old Montreal and got a chance to go inside the historic Notre-Dame Basilica. It was beautiful! The ornate decorations and striking colors really make it something to see. We continued to explore the area by walking down the cobblestone streets of the Ru Saint Paul. We passed a huge variety of unique shops and stores. Our last stop of the day was the steak house Moishes. I have to say, that it was delicious! I have not had a steak that was that good in a long time. The most popular dish was probably the filet mignon. Today was a great day in Montreal and I have a feeling that many more are to follow.

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Gooooood evening everyone, my name is Jayla Jones-Pack and I am a freshman from Amityville, New York. To start off this beautiful Sunday in Montreal we had a team breakfast together and it was delicious. Then we had a great, hard-working practice. The tempo was high and the energy was great, so it was a great way to start our day. After practice, we went back to the hotel to freshen up to start our next event. We went on a walking tour of Old Montreal and we were able to view the Notre-Dame Basilica. Unfortunately it started pouring raining, so it cut our tour short. On our rain-soaked walk back to the bus, of course the sun came out. We were able to go back to the hotel and catch a quick nap before our team dinner. My favorite part about my day was our team dinner at Moishes Steakhouse because we all dressed up and we all looked really nice. We all were bonding and I really enjoyed it . The food was amazing as well, so that was the cherry on top. Can't wait to finish the rest of this trip with my team!

Day Three - Game against Canadian Select All-Star Team
Martha Kuderer and Taylor Brown

(Monday, Aug. 8) - Hello! I'm Martha Kuderer! Today was a great day. We had breakfast this morning at nine and then had the day to do whatever we wanted until three. A lot of players went walking around the city and some people wanted to catch up on some sleep and take naps. Shortly after our pre-game meal we left to play our first game. Our team was so excited to play! I was excited because the whole summer we have been scrimmaging against each other so it was fun to have some other competition. We also haven't had a true game since March so it was very exciting to have the opportunity to play now! We won the first game 99-53 which is pretty good considering we haven't played together since March, and we have a lot of freshmen! We are off to a good start, we are bonding on and off the court, and are all very excited to play our next four games here!

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Hey Pirate Fans! My name is Taylor and I am a sophomore transfer. This is day three in Canada. This morning at 9 a.m., we had a fantastic team breakfast. Later on around 2 p.m., I had a hard workout with Coach Carr since I have to sit out this year. Yes it was a hard work but every day that we are going to be here, I'm going to continue to get better than I was the day before. We arrived at Champlain College around 5 p.m. for our first game and had a great team warm up and talk before the game. The intensity of the game was outstanding. For most of us, this our first time playing with each other and we did great! We shared the ball and showed them what a TEAM success is about! It's so rewarding seeing all of our hard work pay off so far and we can't wait to play four more games this week.

Kaela Hilaire had a strong debut last night with five points, eight assists and this filthy crossover.

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— SHU W Basketball (@SHUWBB) August 9, 2016

Day Four - McGill University and Game No. 2
Kaity Healy and Deja Winters

(Tuesday, Aug. 9) - Hi Pirate fans! I'm Kaity Healy! It's day four here in Canada and it's been great like all of the previous days! We started off our day a little later than normal getting to sleep in after a great win last night! We had a great team breakfast where we were able to bond and get to know each other better off the court. Then we were able to have free time to rest and explore Canada! It is so nice to see how similar it is to American cities yet different in its own way. Around 2:45 we watched film from the game last night, I was unable to play due to injury but it was great seeing the team come together and play hard and encourage them. We have worked so hard the last month on the court, in the weight room, and in conditioning tests and it was great to see such amazing results from everyone on the team! After team film we had our pregame meal where we are fortunate enough to join together and get mentally prepared for the game to come. Tonight we played McGill University, we ended up losing but learning a lot. Every game is about taking something good and something to improve upon so we can reach our ultimate goal of a BIG EAST Championship! Basketball is more than a sport it can take you places you'd never imagine you could go and we are beyond blessed for this opportunity and many more to come!

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Hey! My name is Deja Winters. It's day four in Montreal. Today was kind of a long day. Even though we've had the same breakfast everyday today's was really good, especially the French Toast. Today was also game two for us taking on a very talented and experienced McGill University team. It was a bit of a struggle tonight as we couldn't really hit our shots but I believe we learned a lot from this game. We picked it up and played much harder in the second half. But we will get better and better as time moves on!

Day Five - Six Flags La Ronde and Game No. 3
Samantha Bozzella and Jordan Molyneaux

(Wednesday, Aug. 10) - Hey Pirate fans, it's Samantha Bozzella!! Today was day five of our Canadian tour - and my favorite day yet! The coaches surprised us this morning with a trip to Six Flags La Ronde! For the bunch of us who love roller coasters, we had a blast. We got there early so the lines weren't long at all, and pretty much rode every ride in the park. After a few hours of running around from ride to ride and trying to interpret the French signs and maps, we returned to the hotel and took a much needed nap. We played Laval University tonight and while the result wasn't up to our standards, we showed positive improvements and just kept focusing on the process and long term goals that we have set as a team. Tomorrow we travel two hours to Ottawa and look forward to what the capital of Canada has in store for us. Thanks for checking in!

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Hello Pirate fans! My name is Jordan Molyneaux and I am having a wonderful time in Canada so far! Today I spent some time with my parents and did some shopping. I was amazed with the scenery. The buildings are so big and nice; it's much different from back home. Also, they had a lot of stores to choose from. I actually bought some clothes that I can't wait to wear when I get back home. Canada has been amazing so far and I can't wait see what the rest of this trip has in store for me!

Day Six - Arrival in Ottawa and Parliament of Canada
Lubirdia Gordon and Skyler Snider

(Thursday, Aug. 11) - Hey Pirate fans. My name is Lubirdia Gordon, Bird, and I just want to share how our day is going so far out here in Canada. Today started out with a breakfast buffet that was really good. The team headed back upstairs after having breakfast to start packing our bags for our two hour bus ride to the capital of Canada, Ottawa. Although Montreal is such a beautiful city, I am very excited to see more of this great county. When we finally arrived, we were all a little tired but more excited to see what was next for us. We checked in to our hotel and got to relax a little bit after the ride. A few members of the team walked around Ottawa looking for something to eat. We ended up stopping at Subway and grabbing a sandwich for lunch. We walked back to our hotel and took a little nap until it was time to meet in the lobby to go on our tour of the area. We walked from our hotel about five minutes to the Canadian Parliament which was amazing. We saw the House of Commons where big decision are made. We then went to the reading room where members of Parliament would read the news, bills, laws,etc. We then headed to the library. The library was a very cool place because the Parliament burned down and because of the kinds of doors on the library, it stayed safe and was the only place to survive the fire. We then went to the Senate room. This room was pretty much like the House of Commons. This is also where bills will become a law or not. We came to the end of our tour of the Canadian Parliament. The tour of the building was outstanding! We walked back to the hotel and got ready for dinner at 6 p.m. Dinner was at our hotel which was great because a lot of the team was kind of tired. Dinner was so great! After dinner the team walked to a famous Ottawa pastry and ice cream shop called Beavertails for dessert. Overall today was a great day. The team has a 10 p.m. curfew so we can be ready for tomorrow as we take on the University of Ottawa. Wish us luck and as always LETS GO PIRATES!

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Hey Pirate fans, I'm Skyler Snider, a freshman on the team. It's our sixth day on the road. We started off in Montreal and left this morning and traveled to Ottawa. This trip has been really fun for me. Lots of firsts; first time being out of the country, first time playing a college basketball game and first time learning a little bit of French. Today we took a tour to the Canadian Parliament, it was pretty serious. You had to walk through all this security stuff just to get in. When I first walked in it felt like I was in a Harry Potter movie. My favorite part about the Parliament was the library. It was the only part of the Parliament that was original. The place had burned down a long time ago but the library was the only thing that didn't, so I found it pretty amazing. To end the day we are having a delicious dinner in the restaurant at our hotel and going out for dessert as a team. Going on this trip has really opened my eyes about other things in the world and I am very blessed for that.

Day Seven - Game No. 4 in Ottawa
JaQuan Jackson and Shadeen Samuels

(Friday, Aug. 12) - Hey SHU basketball fans! My name is Quanny Jackson and I have been staying in Montreal & Ottawa, Canada since Saturday for our exhibition games. Even though we are here for serious business, basketball, Canada has a lot more to offer than just what we are here for but today was just business instead of leisure. I'll let you in on how my day has been going here in Ottawa. This morning I woke up to the sun rising and then went back to sleep because I was of course tired from our game the previous night. Then I had breakfast with the team downstairs in the hotel. My breakfast consisted of toast, oatmeal and bacon. The bacon was my favorite, I loved it. After breakfast I watched film with Coach Falc and we reviewed what went well and what went wrong from the previous game. Then I went to my room and rested before our game at University of Ottawa to get some rest. After I rested we had a pretty nice pregame meal and I had some spaghetti and meatballs and a salad. Then our team started to get mentally ready for the game and we caught the bus to Montpetit Hall. We had a very good warm-up and it seemed like everyone was engaged and learned from their mistakes from the previous game. In the game we played together as a team and it ended up turning into a win. I felt like I did better than the previous game and it was beneficial to watch film because I learned from my mishaps. Then we came back to the hotel to have dinner. I had pizza and it was really delicious. My day was a very productive day unlike the other days where we went sight-seeing and eating out. Even though today was only about basketball it was nice to be in an area as interesting as Canada's capital.

Hey Pirate Fans! My name is Shadeen Samuels. Today is a game day and that means it's a chill day. As a team we had breakfast at 9 a.m., which was actually very good. Since it's game day we had a choice whether we wanted to stay in the hotel and rest or go shopping at the Bayshore Market which was walking distance from our hotel. At 3:30 p.m. we had film and ate our pre game meal right after. We left the hotel at 5:15 p.m. to head over to UOttawa for a 7 p.m. game. Personally I think this was the best game we've played since we have been in Canada. Everything seemed to flow smoothly, it wasn't an easy game but we pulled through with the win. After the game we went back to the hotel had some pizza for dinner and called it a night. Sad to say that this trip is coming to an end but I have had an amazing time here in Canada with my team!

Day Eight - Final game in Ottawa
Ali Fitzgerald

(Saturday, Aug. 13) - Hey Pirate fans! My name is Ali and I'm a freshman. It's no doubt we have had a long eight days here in Canada but your women's basketball team is going out on a high note! Tonight we came out with a win against a very good Carleton basketball team! We have grown as a team with each game and we are learning a lot about ourselves and our coaches as well. As Coach B would say, we're figuring it out. We have had good shooting nights, good defense nights, both or neither, but tonight we showed how our team handles adversity. After a very physical game with things not quite going our way, we found ourselves down ten heading into the fourth quarter. We knew that was all the time on the world. We came out strong but as we all know, basketball is a game of runs and following a few quick Carleton baskets we were still down seven with five minutes left. Still, we had a lot of time. We kept battling, one defensive stop at a time until we were down only two with under thirty seconds to go. As the clock was winding down, a deep paint drive by KK and a kick out to Deja let to a swished three and the Pirates leading by one with twelve seconds to go. Time for another defensive stop. Great defense forced a contested shot. Martha grabbed a huge rebound, got fouled, and hit both shots to ice the game for a Seton Hall win. We ended our business trip on a high note and showed how much potential this team has. We've had a great time here in Canada, now it's time for us to go home and rest up so we can get back to work!

Scoreboard

Seton Hall University Athletics

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