Players' thoughts from across the NCAA tournament
Posted: Tuesday Mar 25, 2008 5:19 PM
College stars Essence Carson of Rutgers, Abby Waner of Duke, Crystal Langhorne of Maryland and Erlana Larkins of North Carolina will provide periodic updates on their NCAA tournament experiences.
DES MOINES, Iowa - I am writing just prior to the take-off back to the East Coast and New Jersey. It's always nice to board a plane after a win- and of course, get some zzz's. We are still alive and Sweet Sixteen bound I was told by the media - for the fourth straight year. It was a tough game and Iowa State gave its best fight. The fans really turned out for the game and it was a great atmosphere for college basketball.
Although our defense has held us together all year long, our offense has really started to come around as of late and is clicking on all cylinders. Tonight, Kia Vaughn again played well (23 points). It seemed like she owned the paint. And the three guards on our side myself, Mat (Matee Ajavon) and Piph (Epiphanny Prince) put in double figures and it seemed like everything was rolling.
Iowa State really tested our defense and more so, our communication. We communicated very well (on the switches) and we elevated our game that much more. When it came down to it, we did the most important thing we could do tonight- and that was win. And earn another 40 minutes.
My teammates and I look forward to Greensboro. They treated us very well last year. We are hoping to go in there and play our game- once again, Scarlet Knight basketball. I'm out!
- Rutgers senior Essence Carson
