Another season and another road trip for the MSU Lady Bulldogs. This past week the team headed for Lexington, Ky., to face the lady Wildcats. As always, games on the road can prove to be hard for opposing teams to win, especially in the Southeastern Conference. Yet, every team must try to achieve the seemingly impossible.
More goes into it than just playing a game of basketball. The coaches, players and trainers must work together to achieve their goal. They work as a team within a team. This is no vacation time. Almost every minute is accounted for and put to use to achieve the team goal, a victory. And it all starts with planning.
A lot goes into preparing for a road trip, and no one knows that better than director of Lady Bulldog operations, Stephanie Siler.
Buses and planes have to be reserved, hotel rooms have to be booked and, of course, food has to be provided for the players and staff.
Siler deals with every aspect of a road trip.
Nothing goes on that she doesn’t know about, from when the bus needs to leave or when the plane needs to land; that’s her job.
The planning for this road trip began back in the summer, way before the first ball ever hit the hardwood.
“The planning for all road trips usually goes on in the summer,” Siler said. “I’ll call the hotel and book rooms, equipment and whatever else the team might need.
The closer it gets to the actual date of the game, that’s when I’ll make the itinerary and inform everyone what they need to take as far as clothes.”
The team usually prefers to stay in the same hotels they have stayed in during other trips so that the team feels more familiar with their surroundings.
Running the show can sometimes put Siler under immense pressure.
She’s responsible for organizing the trip, while at the same time watching and breaking down game film, not just for Kentucky but for Ole Miss as well.
She does all that while she finalizes the last road trip the Lady Bulldogs took to Tennessee.
Siler explained the secret is to be able to multitask. Once she has broken down all the game film, it goes directly to the assistant coaches and head coach Sharon Fanning.
The staff then spends several more hours watching the film of the opposing team, breaking down and detailing every move their opponent makes.
After practice and before game time, the Lady Bulldogs spend their time with team trainer Mary McLendon.
It’s McLendon’s responsibility to take care of the minor aches and pains the girls receive during the course of a season.
When the team travels, McLendon said, it can sometimes be difficult because of the lack of space.
“We usually never do anything at the opposing school, so I will do most of the girls’ treatments in the hotel room,” McLendon said.
Treatments usually consist of hot packs, electric muscle stimulation and taping ankles and wrists.
Others might complain about not having space, but McLendon doesn’t see it that way.
“It gives me a chance to bond with the girls,” she said. “It’s just a chance to talk and ask them about their day or just a chance to hang out.”
The people who probably spend the most time with the players are team managers John Reliford and Jason Russum. When they’re not hanging out with the team, they’re helping Siler in some way, either in practice or making sure everyone and everything is accounted for.
The actual players have to prepare themselves for the game while at the same time trying to keep up with their school workload.
To keep the girls focused, the coaches don’t allow the team to carry cell phones. When the team arrives in the visiting city, their phones are taken until after the game.
The team also has a strict curfew, even though this week it was bent to allow the team to watch the men play Florida.
During a midweek road game, the Lady Bulldogs are required to attend study hall to ensure they keep on pace.
“I hate playing on the road, especially how we have to stay in our rooms,” sophomore guard Robin Porter said. “As far as missing class goes, I don’t like missing a lot of class because I get behind, and sometimes missing one day is like missing a week.”
Many of the other players agreed that the worst part of a road trip is being confined to their rooms.
But they all understand the purpose of it: to keep them focused and not distracted by attractions some cities might offer.
The best part of any road trip is of course is when all of the preparation pays off. On Thursday night, it did.
In the legendary Rupp Arena, the Lady Bulldogs earned an amazing double-overtime victory over the Wildcats behind the play of junior forward Imesia Jackson, who scored 22 points.
Jackson – who said the worst part of traveling on the road was having to play at the disadvantage of the opponent’s court – didn’t seem to have too much of a problem performing in Rupp.
The Lady Bulldogs came back from an 11-point deficit in the second half, scoring on a wide-open lay up by freshman Bethany Washington to send the game into overtime.
One extra period would not be enough to put the Wildcats away, though, and the two teams went into double overtime.
In the second overtime, the Lady Bulldogs scored all eight points to secure an 83-75 road victory.