Jan. 8, 2001

We did not play as well against Marquette as we had wanted to, but we remained undefeated and we are happy with that.

After our Christmas break we had a game against USC in California which was a tough game. We were not ready from break to play a team like USC. They were an aggressive team and came out really strong in the beginning of the game. One of our weaknesses is not playing hard from the tip, and when teams play us aggressive early, we find ourselves fighting to get back into the game.

We had a game similar to the USC game when we played at Virginia Tech. Tech was the second Big East team we have faced this season, but it marked the start of our conference schedule this month. We encountered a hostile crowd in Blacksburg, Virginia, so it was a good environment to get us ready for games we will have to play in front of big, on-the-road crowds.

Jeneka Joyce, one of our two freshmen, has been sidelined since Thanksgiving but should be back to give us a lift soon. When she returns, and if Le'Tania continues to play the way she has, we will have a deep bench to carry us into March.

Right now we just need to keep working on our weaknesses so when tournament time comes around we are at our peak and ready to play.