Women's team develops chemistry while abroad

Professors conduct chemistry classes in Gottwald, but the University of Richmond women's basketball team held its own team chemistry classes in several Scandinavian cities during its trip abroad that began on Aug. 10 and ended Aug. 19.

Head coach Michael Shafer said that the players focused on finding their chemistry and learning about each other.

"Going into this whole experience, basketball was irrelevant," Shafer said. "I think they accomplished some things from a basketball perspective, the X's and O's, but I think the biggest accomplishment was finding out each others' strengths and weaknesses."

The team first arrived in Stockholm, Sweden and spent two days there playing club teams Uppsala Basket and the Solna Vikings. When the Spiders were not playing, they toured the Royal Palace, City Hall and the Opera House.

After Sweden, the Spiders traveled to Norway where they stayed for four days playing Ullren Basket in Oslo and Ulriken Elit in Bergen. While in Norway, the team also went sightseeing at some of Norway's famous sites, such as Oslo's Royal Fortress and the 1994 Winter Olympics facillities in Lillehammer.

Shafer said that this team trip had been the first in which the NCAA allowed freshmen to travel overseas and play.

"We were the first school in the country to play with freshmen overseas," Shafer said. "Other schools have since followed suit, but our trip happened to be the first one. It was a tremendous advantage for the playing experience."

Before Shafer began his tenure at Richmond, former head coach Joanne Boyle and the team played games in Spain and Portugal during the summer of 2004. The NCAA allows college and university programs to take its teams abroad every five years.

Assistant coach Ginny Doyle was on the last international trip, but she said this trip was even better than last time because they were able to bring all of the freshmen.

"Sometimes it takes half of the season to mold the players and have them get to that common bond, and that can almost be too late," Doyle said.

Senior Brittani Shells said that the biggest advantage for the team playing abroad was the chance they had to get to know each other better, both on and off the court.

"The trip brought us closer as a team, which is always an advantage when you are playing opposing teams," she said.

Junior Rachael Bilney also said that playing abroad had been helpful for team bonding.

"The freshmen played great and it was the perfect stage for them to get used to the speed and physicality of basketball at the next level," she said.

Bilney also said that the trip gave them the opportunity to play together much earlier than many other American schools.

"We were able to play over a month before the rest of the teams in the country could be able to," she said. "It allowed the freshmen to get a taste of what was to come in practice and games as well."

Though the Spiders worked to become a more cohesive team, especially by being able to incorporate the five freshmen into the playing rotation, Shafer said that they still needed to work on rebounding and finishing plays in the paint.

"We can be very good defensively," he said. "We can be a quick and athletic team, get up and down the floor to transition, but we need rebounding to be the key."

The Spiders won three out of the four games during the Scandinavian tour. The one game they lost was to Uppsala Basket, 70-69. The Spiders won the other three games by at least 28 points.

Shafer said that the trip abroad was an invaluable learning experience.

"We learned that we can really rely on each other, and when the games get tough or adversity hits, we have each other's backs," he said. "Those lessons and experiences will pay off for our advantage."

The Spiders will be able to have NCAA-approved team practices beginning Oct. 3.

Contact staff writer Amelia Vogler at amelia.vogler@richmond.edu