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March 26th, 2007

Journey home a success

By nick on March 26th, 2007

The final day of the trip really provided a lot of insight to what this women’s basketball team was about. As I stood in the back corner of the hotel lobby, I spent a few minutes talking with Susan Yow, Kay’s sister.

She talked briefly about the team and just how much it means to her sister. We also talked about the other staff members and how disappointing it is for the team to leave Fresno, Calif., a couple days earlier than it had hoped.

As we talked about things basketball and non-basketball, Kay ended up taking a seat beside us and in front of the television, hoping to catch a portion of the Tennessee-Marist game. She had just finished taking pictures with quite a few players on the team and it was time for a break.

A little bit into chatting and catching halftime recaps from Saturday night’s games, it was time to catch the flight home. The flight was actually delayed for nearly an hour.

After a short bus ride to the airport, we were just about ready to jump on the flight. The next 10 minutes happened to be one of the funnier moments of the trip.

First, we never even entered the airport. Our airplane was alone outside with nothing around except six security guards. Three sat at a table on the runway, no longer than 10 feet. They’re job was to check in the bags. The other three had metal detector wands – checking every person on the flight.

And that included Yow. I figured she would get some sort of favoritism, but no, not Yow. The security guard checked Yow in every possible way. She forced Yow to take her phone out of her pocket. Then, the guard detected something around Yow’s neck – then came out a necklace. Briefly after a few more seconds of checking, Yow cracked a smile and she was allowed onto the plane.

Everyone pretty much took the same seat as the trip there. The team seemed a little more upbeat than it did Saturday, after the loss.

For the final two hours of the flight, Delta decided to play Rocky Balboa. I wondered if they planned that movie or if that was what they were going to play anyway. The movie was a weird way to end the trip – a movie about a boxer who was against all odds. He has no shot but by then end of the movie, everyone believes in him.

As the plane landed, Yow and her players separated for the final time as the 2006-2007 women’s basketball team. She stepped off the plane and then got bombarded by the band. But being the person Yow is, she happily took pictures with nearly every member and then went on her way.

The journey to Fresno, Calif., was definitely worth missing school and losing sleep to catch up on all the work. Spending almost four full days with the team really showed me how much a person like Yow can impact so many people on her team. The crazy thing is that she inspires many more than just the players in her locker room.

-Nick Jeffreys, Deputy Sports Editor