Women's Basketball Southern Conference

UNC Greensboro Men's and Women's Basketball: First Six Days in Europe

Spartans In Europe: Days One, Two: We Arrive In Norway

During the men's and women's basketball teams' two-week trip in Norway and Sweden, we will be featuring diary entries from two men's and two women's players, as well as pictures and game highlights. Writing for the men's team will be seniors Courtney Eldridge and David Schuck, while senior Sandi Reid and sophomore Megan Honeycutt will write for the women.

Sandi Reid - Our trip has finally started! Starting off on Sunday morning, we had a long, and I mean long bus trip to Baltimore. It was a little crowded, but not as bad as we had expected. After seven hours we arrived at the airport in Baltimore around 4 pm ... boy, that was a relief.
We were able to walk around the airport and get something to eat for a couple of hours after we had gotten all of our bags checked in. Our first flight left Baltimore around 8:45 pm and we arrived in Reykjavik, Iceland at 7:30 am. From Reykjavik, we flew to Oslo and that took only three hours. Once we were in Olso we all felt that we were at least getting somewhere.
Monday was a slow day for us all because everyone (mainly the players) were knocked out from the ride on the bus and both plane rides. Now it was time to get out luggage and load it on the bus ride to Lillehammer. This bus trip was kind of frustrating because the bus was packed luggage, and we had to fill the aisles as well. That took away our leg room in the back, so must of us had to stick out legs out in the isle every five minutes.
When we got to Lillehammer, the first stop was the Maihaugen Museum, where we learned how Norway became industrialized. The museum had lots of antique houses that had been moved and collected together in this open-air museum. We were able to walk into and see a pastor's house and a farmer's house. These houses were made out of nothing but wood and were build back in the 1300's.
We finally made it to the hotel where we were able to shower after 24 hours, and then was dinner, which actually tasted good. After dinner, most of us from the women's team did a little sightseeing near the hotel. Nicky (Armstrong), Katie (DelCampo), and I went into an ice cream shop and got a cone of pecan caramel even though it was pretty cool outside. We had been walking for about 20 minutes when about half the group went back to the hotel, since most of the stores and shops had closed around 6 pm. The rest of us stayed a few minutes longer before coming back to the hotel and turning in for the night, since we had a 6:15 wakeup call in the morning.

Spartans In Europe: Day Three, Bus Trip To Bergen

During the men's and women's basketball teams' two-week trip in Norway and Sweden, we will be featuring diary entries from two men's and two women's players, as well as pictures and game highlights.

David Shuck - We had a great breakfast this morning in Lillehammer. It was a buffet, with lots of breads, meats, cheese, hard-boiled eggs, and more. We spent most of today on the road, from 8:30 am until 7 pm when we arrived in Bergen, though we got to take breaks every two hours on the ride.
There were some awesome sights on the trip through the countryside of Norway. From the bus we rode up, down and through mountains and saw huge waterfalls, as well as reindeer, sheep in the road, rapids, fjords.
When we got to Bergen, a lot of us had swollen ankles from sitting the last two days, but we went to a local school gym to practice for an hour, then watched the women practice for an hour before we came back to the hotel. Ate a very good dinner with lasagna and an ice cream desert, then walked around town the rest of the night.

Megan Honeycutt - Today was a very long day. We got an early start by waking up at 6:15 am, and then ate breakfast. The meal consisted of eggs, many different kinds of meats and cheese. There were also some unexpected items such as: pickled herring and caviar.
After breakfast we loaded the bus and rode westward towards Bergen. We went up and down many mountains. Even though the ride gave a few of us a little motion sickness, the scenery was gorgeous. We saw many beautiful waterfalls and lots of lush green scenery. We even had to stop the bus a couple of times until all of the goats and sheep moved out of the road.
After stopping twice along the way, we finally arrived in Bergen around 7 pm. We then went straight to the gym for a short practice. It felt good to get our legs back again.
Once practice was over we gathered our things and came back to the hotel. We all showered and got ready for our 10 pm dinner. They served us salad and lasagna, and it was very good, especially after such a long day.
Tomorrow we will be touring Bergin before our game against the Grimle Basket (Norwegian Champions in 2001). I am very excited because we get to shop before we play the game tomorrow night! So, sorry Mom and Dad, the credit card maybe a bit higher than expected!
Bergen seems to be a very big city. We even had to pay to get inside. Well, for the time being I have to get some shuteye. We have a "National Champion" to beat tomorrow night!

Spartans In Europe: Day Four, Bergen And Our First Games

During the men's and women's basketball teams' two-week trip in Norway and Sweden, www.uncgspartans.com will be featuring diary entries from two men's and two women's players, as well as pictures and game highlights.

Courtney Eldridge

Early morning wake-up at 8:30 am! We saw some sights and took team pictures of both teams together at the top of the city. Our city tour of Bergen ended around 12 PM, and some of the guys got a bite to eat at a spot we were very familiar with, Burger King.
After Burger King, we went looking around in the local stores. We came back to the hotel around 2 pm to catch a nap before tonight's game. After a long nap we had pre-game meal at 5 pm. Beef tips and rice was the meal, but I really didn't eat too much because I didn't want to be sluggish during the game.

We departed for the game at 6:30 pm, and watched the girls get down early at the start. However, like Spartans always do, they battled back to earn a two-point victory.

9 pm, game time. We started out pretty good, jumped on them early. Got a little lax, and allowed them to compete with us for the first 20 minutes. Beginning of the second half we really jumped on them. James Maye was all over the place and helped us build a 20-point lead. We began playing better defense and scoring easy transition baskets. We ended up winning by about 40 points but it was by no means an easy victory. I lost half of my tooth in the first half diving for a loose ball, so it wasn't all good news.

Sandi Reid

Whew! We got a break today and didn't have to be up and ready to eat breakfast until 8:30 am. Breakfast was pretty good. We had a different variety of things such as meats, fruits, cheeses, and vegetables to choose from.

After eating a healthy and nutritious breakfast, everyone had to lead the bus so that we could tour the city of Bergen. The first place that we actually got put to see was the Edvard Grieg Museum. At this museum we learned about how Edvard Grieg became a very successful piano composer. His music is known worldwide. After spending an hour at the museum, our next stop was at the top of a mountain to view the overall city of Bergen. I must say that it was very beautiful. The rest of the bus tour mainly consisted of us sitting on the bus and looking at buildings and also learning of their establishment. The entire tour took about three hours (9 am - Noon).

Getting back from out morning tour, we were able to have free time to do whatever we wanted. Most of us got into small groups between two and six people. Samika Foster, Nicole Murray, Jennifer Hart, Cindy (Jacinda) Lambert, ChoRhonda Gwaltney and myself all went to TGI Fridays. Man, that place was expensive!!! Instead of paying separately we all decided to pair up and get a meal together. Ron (ChoRhonda) and I ordered Buffalo wings along with some potato skins. Those potato skins were hitting in on the one! Everything else pretty much ordered the same thing.

Pre-game meal was at 4 pm, so after eating at Fridays, we walked back to the hotel where the rest of the team was. We just rested up for a couple of hours and then met to eat dinner. When dinner was over, we had just enough time to go to our rooms and get out bags ready for the game.

Now we're off to the game, so everyone wish us well, hope that we are blessed to come out with a victory. (Sandi would score nine points as UNCG pulled out an 89-87 victory over Grimle Basket).

James Maye's 23 points Sparks UNCG Men's Basketball To 105-65 Win Over Bergen Bulldogs

Junior James Maye paced the UNCG men's basketball team with 24 points in a 105-65 win over the Bergen Bulldogs in the Spartans' first game on its Norway-Sweden Europe trip on August 8 in Bergen, Norway.
UNCG jumped out to a 9-2 lead, and led 23-14 before the Bulldogs used a 7-0 run to cut the lead to two, 23-21, at the end of the first quarter. Using a balanced attack, in which six players scored in double figures, the Spartans slowly increased its lead to as much as 18 in the first half, and held a 49-33 advantage at the break. Maye scored the first eight points of the second half, hitting two straight jumpers, then converting two steals into a layup and a dunk, and UNCG scored 20 of the first 24 points of the third quarter to put the game away with a 69-37 lead.
Joining Maye in double figure scoring was Courtney Eldridge with 14 points, Luke Boythe with 13 points, and Sean McCarthy with 12 points (most of which came on several crowd pleasing fourth-quarter dunks). Ronnie Taylor and Jay Joseph each posted 11.

Two Jacinda Lambert Free Throws Lifts UNCG Women's Basketball Over Grimle Basket, 89-87

Rising sophomore Jacinda Lambert saved the UNCG women's basketball team from a disastrous start in the first game on the Spartans' Norway-Sweden trip as she scored a game-high 28 points, including two free throws with three seconds left to break a tie game and give UNCG a 89-87 come from behind victory over Grimle Basket on August 8 in Bergen, Norway.
Playing their first game as a team since the Southern Conference championship game on March 5, the Spartans were slow to get in the flow of the game, and quickly fell behind 22-6. Grimle Basketball hit four three-pointers in the first quarter, and held a 37-11 lead. But led by Lambert, the Spartans slowly chopped away at the lead, cutting the deficit to 18 points, 51-33, with Lambert scoring 13 points in the half.
UNCG used its quickness in the second half, as fast break layups by Lambert, Samika Foster, and Nicole Murray helped the Spartans to within five points after three quarters, 72-67, and they would take an 87-81 lead entering the final two minutes of the game. Grimle Basket wasn't through, scoring six unanswered points to tie the game at 87 with 23 seconds remaining.
Holding for the last shot, Sandi Reid attempted a layup that was off the mark but Foster got the rebound to Lambert, who was fouled in the lane with three seconds left. She drained both free throws, and Grimle Basket's desperation three at the buzzer was short.
Murray joined Lambert in double figures with 10 points, while Reid, Brianne Dodgen, Kellan Law, and Foster all scored nine. Jennifer Hart added eight points and 10 rebounds.


Day Six
The Spartans' spend the day traveling to their final stop in Norway, Oslo.

Courtney Eldridge

7:30 am wake-up call today. Breakfast was ok today, the hotel had table where you
could make your own waffle, and that was good.

We spent most of the day traveling. We left Bergen at around 9:15 am and didn't
get to Oslo until about 5 pm. We stopped to stretch, get some fresh air, and to
eat lunch. Lunch was horrible and unsatisfying, but the kiwi was excellent.

Slept most of the bus ride, and also listened to music and talked to members of both
teams. At lunch, we took team photos seperately and together. But I couldn't smile
because of my chipped tooth. Once we arrived in Oslo, we walked to the post office
to exchange some money but was unsuccessful because the post office was closed.

Oslo looks much bigger than Bergen, and looks to be a fun atmosphere to be in. James
(Maye), Ronnie (Taylor), Tizzo (Johnson), Jay (Joseph), Pete (Tsampas) and myself
left the hotel around 8:30 pm to walk around the city. When we left the hotel it
was partly sunny for about 15 minutes, but later we were caught in a huge downpour.
Luckly, the hotel provides complementary umbrellas. We had to litterally run back
to the hotel to get them. The weather in Norway is extremely unpredictable. When
we had first gotten to the hotel, it rained and hailed very hard for about 20 minutes
while we were unloading the bus, and the streets were all flooded until it let up.


After drying off, getting jackets and umbrellas,we returned to the streets. We walked
around looking for local nightspots that played hip-hop and R&B music, but were somewhat
unsuccessful. After numerous hours of walking,James, Jay and myself were tired and
returned to the hotel. On the way back, a routine stop at 7-Eleven concluded out
first night in Oslo.

Sandi Reid

This morning was better than the usual morning because we didn't have to load the
bus until 9 am. We started off on the bus, and that's pretty much where we stayed
for the day, except for making little bus stops for the bathroom for a little snack.


One stop that we did make was at this little picnic area at a park, and it was surrounded
by water and mountains; it was very pretty. At this particular stop, we all ate
lunch and after a while we took a couple of group photos. It was kind of a bonding
moment.

We got back on the bus so we could finish the trip to Oslo, which took a total of
eight hours. The only bad part about it was being cramped up and not being able
to move or relax the way that we really want to.

Finally, we have arrived in Oslo! Arriving within the city we saw nothing but shops
every which way we turned. Hopefully we'll get to visit the different places that
we'll see. They say Oslo is a fun place, I guess we'll have to find out and let
you know later!