Ezell Blog Update

[mkcrawford]

Heather has her 2nd & 3rd entries in her blog relating stories and results from her experience playing on the Jones Team.

Hello from Taipai, Taiwan!
It’s been a long week with traveling and playing. We arrived in Taipai on Monday around 5 p.m., which was 4 a.m. back home. Everyone was very tired but they made us stay up until about 8 so we could try and get our sleep patterns right.

The plane ride over here was almost 13 hours. The night before we left I decided it would be a good idea to stay up all night and then just sleep on the plane. Well, the staying up all night worked but the sleeping on a plane fell through. I stayed awake for 12 out of the 13 hours, so lets just say I was very tired when we got to Taiwan.

Once we got to Taipai we had an hour bus ride to our hotel, the city is huge! I was so surprised by all the tall buildings, but more surprised by all the "project" like apartments and areas. It was sad to see that many homes looking the way they did. The tallest building in the world, the Taipai 101, is really close to our hotel. We have a day off on Sunday which we will spend sightseeing and actually go up in it and then go to the Zoo and a few other places.

Now onto the basketball tournament. We played the Chinese Taipai team first, which is their national team. We ended up losing by only a few (70-63) to them, but we should have won. Everyone had a little trouble adjusting to the style of play over here. For example, you can practically do anything but tackle the other team and it is not a foul. I got to play quite a bit at both the point and wing but didn't get a lot of shots up. I ended the game with 3 points and 4 assists.

Next we played the Australian team, which featured 11 of their 20 Olympic players. Unfortunately, we got blown out in the second half and ended up losing by 30 (70-40), which is the closest game they have played so far :)! During a free throw, I asked one of the girls where she was from and then asked her if she knew Alison Lacey. Sorry Alison, she didn't have a clue. I played about the same as the first game, ending with 4 points and 5 assists.

Our next game was against the Japanese team, which featured no one over 6 feet tall. We won this game by about 40 (114-72). It was nice to finally get a win under our belts. We dominated the Japanese team in the paint. Jackie McFarland, from Colorado, ended the game with 22 points and 9 rebounds. I ended the game with 9 points and 7 assists. The Japanese team was very nice, and we hung out with them after the game for almost 20 minutes outside the locker rooms. I learned how to say hello, what’s up, and thank you in Japanese.

Well it is now Saturday in Taipai and we have a game this afternoon against Korea. Then we have a day off on Sunday and we will play 2 more games on Monday and Tuesday. I will be sending out another blog shortly and I apologize for this one coming a few days late. The internet is a little different over here and I just figured out how to use it! Thanks for reading! Have a great day and Go Cyclones!!

Heather Ezell

Ezell Talks About Jones Cup Trip - CYCLONES.com—The Official Web Site of Iowa State University Athletics

AMES, Iowa - Iowa State junior guard Heather Ezell has been traveling with the U.S. Jones Cup Team over the last week and a half. She had her best game yet in the team’s win over the Korean team, scoring 18 points and committing no turnovers. The team has been in Taipei, Taiwan, since July 11 and will remain there through July 17. This is her third diary and she will write one more when she returns from Taipai. Check back soon to cyclones.com for her final entry.

Hello again from Taipai!
We are almost done with the tournament. Just one more game, and it will be for the bronze medal, which is exciting. Since I wrote last we have won two more games and had a day off.

First off we played against the Korean team on Saturday. They had a post player that was drafted with Leah Rush in the WNBA but did not make it. They were a good team, but we beat them (94-68). This was my best game of the tournament so far. I had 18 points, two assists, and probably the best stat was 0 turnovers!

Sunday was our day off, and we took full advantage of it. We actually did not get to sleep in, but instead got up around 8 a.m. and went to an orphanage. It was a very heart-filling experience with all the little kids they had. I got really attached to a 10-month old baby boy, who actually fell asleep in my arms, and I didn't want to give him up. After that we went to the Taipai 101 building which, like I said earlier, is the tallest building in the world. Viewing Taipai from this building was beautiful and I took many pictures of it. After that we went to the Taipai Zoo, which was so much fun. The zoo was huge and we didn’t have a whole lot of time, but we made the best of it and almost got through the whole park.

After the zoo, we came back to our hotel and had dinner, then headed off to the Night Markets in downtown Taipai. This was the best part of the day, but also the grossest. There were thousands of people in these little alleyways, all trying to get the best bargain on name brand things.

On Monday, we played New Zealand, which was a really good game. New Zealand was the one team that played most like an American team. It was a close game until the end when we pulled away and won by over 20 (81-60). I ended the game with 8 points and 6 rebounds.

After the game, we went out to dinner with the New Zealand team at TGI Friday’s, which was a lot of fun. And yes, there are American restaurants close to our hotel, including Outback, which was inside our hotel.

On Tuesday we play the other Taiwan team at 5:30 p.m. and if we win that game we will get the Bronze medal. After the 7:30 p.m. game, there will be a ceremony to present medals. Hopefully we will be part of that.

Other than that we will head back to the States on Wednesday. I can't believe this experience is almost over, but I can guarantee it is something I will never forget. Thanks for reading and I will see you guys back in Ames soon!

Take Care and Go Cyclones!
Heather Ezell

Ezell Update from Taipai - CYCLONES.com—The Official Web Site of Iowa State University Athletics