GWsports.com - The official site of George Washington University Athletics

BUFF AND BLOG - GEORGE WASHINGTON WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

The George Washington women's basketball team, specifically redshirt junior Ivy Abiona, sophomore Tiana Myers and freshman Megan Nipe, will be sharing their experiences as student-athletes in Foggy Bottom throughout the 2009-10 season. Be sure to check back as new posts will be added each week.

Ivy Abiona, Nov. 19, 2009

BUCKETS, BUCKETS, BUCKETS!!!!! It feels GREAT to go out in our first game of the season and get a win, especially on the road!! This past Tuesday we played North Texas and what a game it was. The sophomores and freshmen of the GW women's basketball team really came to play. Even with a hostile "Mean Green" University of North Texas school band serving as sixth-man for the hosts, GW overcame! If you didn't check out the women's basketball web site, let me just fill you in. Sophomore Sara Mostafa almost had a triple-double ... there were five (FIVE!) players who scored double-digits, with the rest of the team not far behind...and, oh yeah, a freshman by the name of Shi-Heria Shipp tipped-in a miss with only seconds to spare to give GW a sweet win with a final score of 84-82. In a nutshell - that's simply GW Basketball!!!! It lessened the woes of the 5:00 am wake-up call and made the 7:00 am plane ride back to Washington a whole lot nicer.

Also, did you hear about the GW men's basketball team? Two games, two wins! Congrats men! Both men's and women's basketball teams are jumping out to early wins; yes count it - 3 games, 3 wins, VICTORY! That is just the GW way, baby!!!! And I'm sure that we'll be seeing more success this weekend as the GW women's volleyball team heads out to Dayton for the A-10 Championship. Good luck ladies!!!

Finally, we have our first home game in the newly renovated Smith Center tonight at 7:00 pm against Coppin State. It's starting to get kind of hard to keep the excitement under wraps! It's going to be great to show the home crowd what we are all about. New arena, new team, starting a new season of basketball ... Ahhhh, I love this time of year!!!! Tip-off is at 7:00 pm so make sure you're there!!!!! GO GW!!!!!!

Toodles,
~ Ivy Abiona~

The First Game is Quickly Approaching
Tiana Myers, Nov. 2, 2009

Before I even talk about the season I just wanted to say: HAPPY 18th BIRTHDAY to JANINE DAVIS!

And now back to basketball. There are exactly 15 days until the first game of the season. Our season opener is against North Texas on Nov. 17 and I can't wait, but let's not get ahead of ourselves - we still have many things to accomplish in practice first. Practices are coming together pretty well, I must say. The freshmen are getting adjusted to the college level of play and the intensity they must bring each day and us sophomores are stepping up and showing good leadership qualities. All in all, we are working hard. And let's not forget about Ivy Abiona, or Iviona as I like to call her, our lone upperclassman. She is always encouraging us and pushing us to get better even when we think we are doing all we can. What I like most about this team is the bond we share. We had a team night this past Friday and let's just say we are forever bonded. We all learned something valuable about one another.

However, the best part of this weekend was Oct. 31 because we had an open practice and met many fans and boosters. The younger fans were so adorable (our future Colonials). We took them through a lay-up drill and Coach Moore treated them the same way he treated us - he told them they would have to run suicides for missed lay-ups. They looked so scared until we told them he was kidding. We couldn't keep from laughing because their facial expressions were priceless. After the drills we met more fans and answered any questions they had. One of our fans asked us, "What is a typical day for you?" Kay-Kay Allums told her that our days were so busy we barely had time to sleep - which is only true some of the time. I also met some of GW's most loyal women's basketball boosters as well - they were so nice and told me they have been fans for the past 20 years. Also, let's not forget that Oct. 31 is Halloween and I saw some original costumes - like one girl who dressed up as the McDonald's drive thru and dancers from the show America's Best Dance Crew (aka my teammates Tara, Sara, Brooke, and Kay-Kay). They had an exclusive dance off. The first group was Kay-Kay and Brooke and the second group was Tara and Sara. If I had to pick a winner, it would be Tara and Sara because they actually choreographed their moves. Sara had her own solo performance - you should have seen her dance moves. Oh what a fun night! There's never any dull moments on this team.

Talk to you again soon,
Tiana Myers #5

Ivy Abiona, Oct. 26, 2009

I'm back and excited to tell you everything that has been going on since our last entry. We just finished our first full week of practice and let me tell you, the Colonials are back!. It was a slow start with everyone getting used to practice-mode, which is very different from preseason workouts and conditioning. Now we are beginning to implement different drills, more intensity, more systematic breakdowns and installing and executing plays. We are really starting to get into the nitty-gritty of things and it looks great. I love watching the freshmen adapt to the new, high-level learning and fast-paced action of collegiate basketball. You can really see those wheels turning in their heads! Although we started slow, things are beginning to get picked-up and becoming more efficient.

Friday (10/23) was Kay-Kay Allums' 20th birthday so the whole team went to the movies and watched Saw IV. Personally, I am not a fan of scary/horror movies, so my perspective may be a little bit biased, but it was too gory and gross. I think I had my eyes squeezed tight for about 98 percent of the movie...anything for a teammate I guess. That evening, some of my teammates and I attended the GW women's volleyball game versus Xavier. What a game, what a game!!! We won in dramatic fashion of course, winning three out of the five games. Xavier won the fourth game pretty handily and I was getting a little scared, but the great thing about GW Athletics is that you can always count on your fellow student-athletes to attend your game and help you out. The Xavier men's soccer team came to watch the game (since they played our men's team earlier that day... and our guy's won of course! Congrats Men's Soccer!!!) and was doing a pretty good job heckling our team. Damian Hollis from the men's basketball team gathered all of the fellow GW student-athletes in the Smith Center and for the rest of the game we all cheered and roared for GW. People were yelling, cheering, shouting, stomping...anything and everything to give our team that extra boost. I think they heard the support because they won. The men's basketball team rushed the court - it was a pretty amazing sight to see and be apart of. It was probably the first of many great, classic victories to come in the newly renovated Smith Center.

Finally, to round out the weekend we co-hosted the first "GW THINKS PINK" event at the women's soccer game along with the GW women's soccer team. If you have or haven't heard I'll tell you anyway -- all of the GW teams (specifically the women's teams) are getting together and doing a "GW THINKS PINK" fundraiser for breast cancer research. Everything from T-shirts, wristbands and ribbons -- all pink and all for breast cancer research. If you're looking to help support, check out the GW Thinks Pink logo on GWsports.com -- all donations are greatly appreciated! In the first "GW Thinks Pink" event of the season we helped raise over $400.00, which is awesome! That wasn't the only success story going on at Mount Vernon though because the women's soccer team beat Duquesne, 1-0. The goal was scored by senior Brittany Eger and must have been a very special goal for her, since it was also Senior Day. Congrats to women's soccer and the honored seniors!

I know - long-winded and very lengthy, but did you expect anything less? So many great things are happening on GW's campus that it's impossible not to get excited. Until next time...

Toodles,
~Ivy Abiona~

Megan Nipe, Oct. 26, 2009

Well, we are on our second week of practice. It was evident to see after the first day that practices at the Division 1 level are nothing like last year's high school practices, but my body is starting to get used to the workouts and I don't get as sore as I used to. We have put in a lot of our offensive plays and started our defenses. Personally, it was confusing to me at first because I still had all of my high school plays in my head and within the first week we had added around 16 new plays. I'm starting to get the hang of Coach Bozeman's game plan though. Also, I'm excited to see how everyone on the team plays together and how encouraging we all are. I've never been on a team where everyone is so supportive of one another. This Saturday, we have an open practice and a question and answer session after. I've never done that before so I'm anxious to see how that goes.

This past weekend we volunteered at the GW women's soccer game to raise money for breast cancer research. It's great to see people willing to donate money for a great cause. Along with that, it was beautiful outside and we got to watch the women's soccer team win their game. It was a great weekend and the team got to spend some time together outside of the gym, which is always nice.

Anyway...time for practice! Hope you all had a great weekend as well!
Megan

The Season is Practically Here
Tiana Myers, Oct. 12, 2009

Hey everyone,

What can I say? Time sure does fly. The season is practically here already, I am so excited. Preseason has been going very well. This is our last week before we get into the full swing of things. Aside from basketball the team has been bonding off the court as well. This past weekend we went to the Cheesecake Factory (I love that place) to celebrate the October birthdays....Tara Booker (October 11), Megan Nipe (October 13), and Kay-Kay Allums (October 23). We had so much fun and I love my teammates, but the best part of the night happened when my brother came to surprise me at dinner. He goes to Tarleton State in Texas and I haven't seen him in two months. I wasn't expecting to see him until Christmas so when I saw him you can only imagine how excited I was.

The conclusion of this past weekend included volunteering at the DC Breast Cancer Walk on Sunday afternoon. We had a lot of fun meeting people and congratulated them on their walk. The walk took place Friday, Saturday and Sunday and for about 20 miles each day. What a great way to exercise and support a great cause. Volunteering at the walk was a great way to meet wonderful people who had won their battle with breast cancer or were affected in other ways. The walk raised money for Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund. We were glad to have the opportunity to help in any way we could since some of my teammates and coaches have known people who have battled with cancer.

P.S. On another note, as the season approaches we want to invite you to come to Colonials Invasion on October 16 to help us start the season off right. Doors open at 7. Come out and join us for a fun night.

Talk to you soon,
Tiana #5

Ivy Abiona, Oct. 5, 2009

Hey there again,

Since I last wrote a lot of things have happened, but definitely all great things!!! Well, first I'll talk about workouts. Workous - conditioning, weights, and individuals - are going great. A lot of learning, preparing, and lots of getting used to college basketball and to each other. It's definitely been amazing watching the freshmen grow in a short amount of time. Not only are we finally settled with basketball and workouts, but school has finally gotten less busy, but still a little hectic at times.

More GW Women's Basketball news - we recently took our team and individual photos (if you haven't seen them, check our web site - our team looks good!). Also, this past Thursday we did mini video shoots and funny video clips for Colonials Invasion. It's a first for GW Women's Basketball, so I hope it turns out well. I had the chance to sit in on a couple of my teammate's shoots and they were definitely funny and reflects some of their personalities. Another first is that we will be putting on a little show during Colonials Invasion. It's definitely different from past years, in which we did drills displaying our athleticism and shooting. I won't say exactly what we are doing, but it's going to be funny and just show some of the team's personality! This year's Colonials Invasion is during Parent's Weekend, which I think is awesome. Ahhhh, I can't wait for Colonials Invasion this year! October 16th, be sure to save the date!!!

This past Friday, October 2, the GW Women's Volleyball team had the distinct honor of playing the first contest in newly renovated Smith Center. They looked amazing playing on the court. It was their first home game and there were so many fans, including a lot of fellow athletes. It was cool to see other athletes supporting their peers! If you haven't had the chance to watch our women's volleyball team you really should - I think they're going to do great things this year!!!. They played Rhode Island Friday night and let me tell you they showed their dominance! They won 3-0 - the first two games were won pretty handily, but the final game was a nail-biter. It went all the way to 28-26, but all that matters is that it's another GW win! Congrats girls! That's pretty much all of the "happenings" since Megan's blog. As always, I hope you enjoyed reading and until next time...

Toodles,
~ Ivy Abiona ~

Megan Nipe, Sept. 29, 2009

My name is Megan Nipe and I'm a freshman on the GW women's basketball team. I came here from Minnesota, have played basketball since second grade and have been on pretty successful teams my whole career. I'm very excited to have the opportunity to play here at GW!

At this time in the year, we are in preseason workouts. This consists of lifting weights, conditioning on the court and in the pool, and having individual workouts. We are putting in work now so that when the season comes, we will be ready for the real work. Not having to work on our physical conditioning once practice starts leaves our team a lot of opportunity to get other things done. It's challenging physically, but even more so mentally. Having to push yourself every day and go your hardest even when no one is watching is what is necessary to be part of a championship team. We are in the fourth week of workouts and I think by now I have the hang of things. However, in a little over two weeks, real practices begin. I'm sure it will be a whole new ball game when that time comes.

Academics wise, things are going pretty well. I always love learning new things no matter where I am. However, I had the advantage of being on campus for summer school, so I don't have to get my feel for the campus and classes like all the other freshmen. I already have most of it down.

These next few weeks will bring on new challenges and new experiences that will help me grow in all aspects of life. I will have to find ways to overcome the hard times and enjoy the good ones, and I'll keep you all updated on how it goes for me.

Till next time...

Megan

One Day At A Time
Tiana Myers, Sept. 21, 2009

Everything is coming together nicely. The team is building great chemistry. We have completed two weeks of conditioning and we are looking good, everyone is pushing themselves to get better, which is good for the season we have ahead of us. Our schedule came out this past week and once again our coaching staff has put together a very competitive schedule. We will be playing 13 home games in the newly renovated Smith Center. The gym looks AMAZING and so does our locker room. Basically, I like all the changes they have made thus far and I'm sure our fans will too.

As far as our home schedule goes, we play Coppin State, Rutgers, Western Kentucky, Rice, Marshall and Mount St. Mary's before entering conference play. The away games include Auburn, Tennessee, Ohio, George Mason and Villanova to name just a few. I think the most anticipated trip of the season, at least for the players, is to Freeport, Bahamas for the Junkanoo Jam. I don't think I have to explain why we can't wait to go there during our Thanksgiving break. No worries, we do know that we are there to play basketball, but this is an opportunity of a lifetime. However, we still have to get through preseason workouts first, so I do not want to get ahead of myself and lose focus on the preparation part of the season.

Also, school is still going well. My professors are nice and classes are interesting. I am a business major so I can actually follow what is going on in the economy. Yes, I am excited. I am sure you know the feeling of something important happening and having the ability to explain what is going on. That is pretty cool, don't you agree? Yes, I know you do.

Well that's all until next time.
Talk to you soon, Tiana - #5

Ivy Abiona, Sept. 14, 2009

Greetings All,

Phew! What a crazy and hectic first two weeks of being back on campus it has been. Everything from classes, catching up with friends, different student organizations and getting back into basketball, I've been a very busy person. So if I feel like I'm running around like a crazy person, I can only imagine how our freshmen are feeling. But to tell you the truth, they are adjusting very well. They are a very focused and motivated group, which makes it very easy and also enjoyable to watch them play. They are eager to learn which is also a pleasure. Speaking of learning, this past week the team returned to the court for our preseason workouts. Although tough and challenging, everyone completed the workouts and did well.

Even though it's very early, we are really starting to come together as a team. Everyone's getting along and laughing, so when we hang out it very easy, almost natural, to enjoy each other's company. For instance, this past weekend we traveled to Silver Spring to eat dinner at Red Lobster and take in a movie at the Majestic. Dinner was delicious and the movie (I Can Do Bad All By Myself - part of Tyler Perry's Madea series) was good and very funny.

Also, my good friend Laura Dominiak (who plays on the GW women's lacrosse team) and I spent part of Sunday afternoon in Georgetown. We enjoyed some cupcakes from the popular eatery Georgetown Cupcake. The cupcakes (yes, plural) were delicious!

Lastly, I know that everyone wants to hear about the Smith Center Renovations!!!!! The Smith Center has definitely come a long way since last spring and it looks amazing! I think that a lot of fans are going to be surprised and happy about the transformation. I know that I am especially excited about the new training room. It is up and running and looks great. I can't wait to start practicing on the new floor and getting used to the new court and lighting... I'm definitely ready for the season to start!

Well, that's really all I have to say. Hope you enjoyed reading. Catch ya later.

Toodles,
~ Ivy Abiona ~

It Wasn't So Bad
Tiana Myers, Sept. 2, 2009

Today was the first day back to school...I AM OFFICIALLY A SOPHOMORE. It's a bittersweet feeling. Summer was so fun - from the workouts, to the cruises and hanging with friends - but now it's back to work. One of the main reasons I wanted school to hurry up and start was because I missed my teammates, as if I didn't spend enough time with them last year. I thought I needed a break from them, but I was wrong. They keep me laughing. I actually missed the school work too....ask me that again in the middle of the semester and I may have a different answer. In the back of my mind I thought today was going to be like the first day of my freshmen year. And to a certain extent it was the same because of the anticipation of coming to school. But unlike last year, I knew what to expect this year. I actually knew where my classes were - well, at least I thought I did. I have to admit, I did get lost today. Overall, I felt more calm and relaxed because I did this before and each time it seems to get a little easier. I am a pro at this now...well, maybe not since I did get lost, but close enough and the professors were really nice and down to earth.

Truthfully, the best part of coming back to school means we are closer to the season. Like everything in life, it is going to be a work in progress....we want to accomplish so much. The season can't come fast enough, but until then I'll keep you posted on all the preseason conditioning....I know so much FUN...but as Michael Jordan said, "Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen." So we are going to make it happen, we will be ready when the season comes.

Talk to you soon, Tiana - #5.