Northwestern University Athletics
And 1 With Amy
11/24/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 24, 2009
We are 3-0! This is the best start to a season our team has had since I first put on the Wildcat uniform. I have never won three games in a row in my college career, and it feels great! We knocked-off SIU-Edwardsville, 68-37, on Friday and also beat IPFW, 78-58, Sunday afternoon.
After home games Coach McKeown always invites a few fans to come into the locker room to be a part of the post-game speech. It's fun because we get to meet some of our fans and they get to experience what happens in our locker room. This time we had the Renihan family, some of our most loyal fans, including their parents Todd and Renae, and three daughters Mackenzie, Madison and Morgan. Usually Coach McKeown engages the younger kids by making them introduce themselves and then asking them a few questions. Well this time after a few questions he very bravely asked a few girls, "Do you girls think I yell a lot?" They all shyly nodded their heads and responded, "Yes." He followed up with another light-hearted question, "Who do you think I yell at the most?" One of the girls confidently responded, "AMY!" I swear if that girl hadn't been on the other side of the locker room, I would have picked her up and given her a huge hug right then and there! ☺
I think I might have made Coach McKeown out to be this screaming monster with all my comments about his yelling and his dramatic removal of the jacket updates, but he is actually a very considerate and caring man. Since half our team is from out of town and we don't have time off to make it home for Thanksgiving dinner, coach has offered everyone to come to his house for a huge feast. He and his wife, Laura, are hosting not only the girls who have nowhere to go, but also everyone's family who is coming in from out of town for the holiday (this was approved by our compliance department, to be sure). There is going to be a huge crowd to feed but I know everyone greatly appreciates the hospitability the McKeown family has repeatedly provided our team. This past October they had our team over for a Mexican Fiesta complete with margaritas (non-alcoholic, of course), a Mexican buffet and a piñata following dinner. The Mocchi twins even showed up with sombreros on! It is nice to be part of a family.
Tonight we tip off against DePaul at 8 p.m., following the men who play Liberty at 5:30 p.m. The Blue Demons are going to be the stiffest competition we have faced thus far this season as they are currently ranked 15th in the nation. I am very pumped to play in this game because my high school teammate (Deirdre Naughton) plays for the Blue Demons and I was coached by their head coach, Doug Bruno on the USA U19 basketball team the summer before my freshman year. This makes me all the more ready to come out and win this big game. So please come out and join us tonight as we compete for the basketball bragging rights in the Chicagoland area! We are also hosting the DoubleTree White Invitational this Friday and Saturday. Iowa State, College of Charleston and Penn will be here to help us finish our run of five home games in eight days. We play at 5:30 p.m. Friday against College of Charleston and at 4 p.m. Saturday against Penn.
And just in case you're wondering, coach has yet to rip of his coat during the game, meaning that, like our winning streak, this is a new record of three games straight!
Don't forget to bring in canned food for the food drive Northwestern Athletics is promoting this holiday season when you attend the men's and women's double header tonight, Nov. 24. Thanks for your support!
Have a great turkey day and I'll talk to you next Tuesday!
Amy J.
