North Carolina State University Athletics
Hawaiian Fun, Sun, and Women's Basketball
12/26/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The NC State women's basketball team is spending a week in Honolulu, Hawaii, to compete in the Pepsi Rainbow-Wahine Invitational. During its time on the island of Oahu this blog will feature some of the highlights of what is going on with the Wolfpack women.
Saturday, Dec. 24
For all players, coaches, support staff, and accompanying family members, it was a very early start to Christmas Eve with a pending cross country flight to everyone's final destination of Hawaii.
For some, the alarm clock went off before 4 a.m., as we prepared to head to airports across the country. (Note: All players were sent home earlier in the week after the victory over Vanderbilt to spend time with family). The bus left Reynolds Coliseum at 6:45 a.m., with a majority of the Wolfpack travel party taking off from RDU around 8:30 a.m.
After 10-12 hours of flight time depending on where one started, a handful of movies, and expensive airplane food, flights began landing at Honolulu International Airport as early as 2 p.m., local time (5 hours behind the Eastern Time Zone).
Weary travelers attempted to stay up as dinner time was quickly turning into night time for some. A late night dinner, at 8:30 p.m., after the final couple Texas travelers joined the fray, was an attempt to get us adjusted as quickly as possible to our new home.
Sunday, Dec. 25
Mele Kalikimaka!
Our first full day in Hawaii began with an early rise for a Christmas Day basketball practice at Hickam Air Force Base.
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The twist was the team had to practice outdoors!! Going to the "black top" as we all did as kids was a fun, and sun filled couple hours as the players shook out their weary "jet lagged" legs and got a good sweat in with the Trade Winds keeping it comfortable for all.
The bus pulled out and headed for a quick lunch before heading to the Northshore for some big waves, warm sun, and plenty of sand.
A roughly hour-long ride took us away from the city atmosphere of Honolulu to the serene farming fields and Mountain ranges that make Hawaii so unique. Along the way we saw the Dole Plantation, fields of coffee beans, and drove through the historical town of Haleiwa, home of the world famous Matsumoto Shave Ice - unfortunately as it was Christmas Day it was closed.
We continued on our journey to the Northshore. We drove all the way up to Turtle Bay Resort (shot location of "Forgetting Sara Marshall") before turning back and settling down for a couple hours at Waialee'e Beach Park.
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The waves were pretty significant (>10 feet) though the locals said it was an average day for this time of year.
After cleaning the pesky sand off, the group marched back onto the bus and headed for dinner. One of our men's practice players, Chris Arceneaux, and his family just happen to currently live in Hawaii (father is stationed at Hickam AFB) and they welcomed us to their house for a wonderful Christmas Day meal.
I might add the house features an amazing view of Pearl Harbor and the surrounding area.
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About half the players gathered around the television to watch some of the NBA games that tipped off the season, while others played card games and shared some laughs in the family room.
The meal featured your customary turkey and ham, with all the fixin's. We can't thank the Arceneaux's enough for opening up their home to us and making us feel like family. Chris' mom played tennis at State so I guess were all part of the Wolfpack family!!
Monday, Dec. 26
Before more sightseeing, we had our first indoor practice this morning. It was then lunch time and off to see the southern part of the island. We stopped a couple times on the way to Hanauma Bay for picturesque photos of the coast line. Some of the group even saw some whales far out in the distance.
As we continued to the Bay we made one more stop at the “Blow Hole” and there we could faintly see some of the other islands that make up Hawaii.
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Then it was off to Hanauma Bay, and after a quick video on how the area was formed, and the wildlife we may encounter, it was off to a snorkel adventure. Most of the group participated and saw all kinds of fish, coral, and a couple ventured out a little farther and that paid off when two sea turtles stopped by to say hello to the Wolfpack.
The day ended with the team eating together at a nearby Japanese Steakhouse.
Good luck to the football team Tuesday in the Belk Bowl!!
Tuesday, Dec. 27
The last day before the tournament begins started with another practice, this time at the Stan Sherriff Center on the campus of Hawaii. The team got acclimated to its surroundings where it will play three games in three days starting on Wednesday against Florida Gulf Coast, a team that leads the country in three-pointers made per game.
The afternoon was “free time” for the players and staff. Some took a surf lesson at nearby Waikiki Beach, while others searched for authentic Hawaiian food. The area around the hotel is such a popular destination for tourists that it’s actually tough to find something to eat other than your typical “chain” restaurants.
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A few staff members found the Rainbow Drive Inn – plates were made up of rice, mac salad, fried boneless chicken and bbq pork (the Mix Plate), while others tried the Loco Moco, which consisted of eggs, two hamburgers, a dark gravy over rice and mac salad. Most of us were impressed with the local cuisine.
By mid-afternoon it was time for a shuttle out to the west side of the island for the Paradise Cove Luau.
It was a beautiful setting along the coastline with plenty of activities including head band making out of palm leaves for the ladies. Temporary tattoos were also popular among many of the traveling party.
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Our group was also selected/volunteered to participate in many of the demonstrations and was also part of the evening show. Erica Donovan going one-on-one with a hula dancer was probably the highlight for our group. She held her own against an old pro!!
The food was great and the Wolfpack party had plenty of laughs as the show came to an end. The bus ride back capped the first portion of our trip. Now it’s time for some basketball. Go Pack!!
Wednesday, Dec. 28
Game Day!! The first game of the tournament pitted the top two teams in the invitational – featuring the 7-3 Wolfpack and the 8-1 Eagles of Florida Gulf Coast, one of the top mid-major programs in the country that had already beaten Michigan State, Virginia Tech and Richmond this season.
The coaching staff stressed to their players not to take this team lightly, despite being a relative newcomer to Division I basketball. In fact, this is FGCU’s first season eligible for NCAA postseason play at the DI level.
They are a unique team that wants to shoot three-pointers almost exclusively – leading the nation with nearly 13 deep make per game. Earlier in the year they tied an NCAA record with 21 three-pointers in a game.
A sluggish start for both teams saw a tied ball game midway through the first half, before the Nebraskan Assassin, Marissa Kastanek got hot down the stretch before halftime. 12 points by the junior over the final eight minutes led the Pack to a 38-26 lead at the break.
The lead grew to 17 early in the second half, but a 29-9 extended run by the Eagles allowed them to take the lead back, but in the end the Wolfpack held on by scoring the final five points of the game for a 69-64 win.
State took its opponent out of its comfort zone, allowing season lows in three’s made (6) and attempted (21).
Kastanek had a season-best 22 points, and forward Kody Burke chipped in with 17.
Thursday, Dec. 29
One final non-basketball activity took place this morning as the team went to Pearl Harbor. The grounds of the National Park was beautiful at the sight knows as the WWII Valor in the Pacific National Monument.
A very informative video started the program with some background information of how the bombing came about on Dec. 7, 1941, including video footage of the attack.
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Next was a short ferry ride over to the USS Arizona Memorial that sits above the water at the sight the battleship still sits with a portion of the boat still hovering above the water. Our tour guide discussed in moving detail about the people that lost their lives that day, and how folks that lived through the bombing have requested to return to their ship once they have passed.
All in all it was a great reminder of what happened that day over 70 years ago!!
The second game of the tournament for the Wolfpack was a matchup with Alcorn State out of the SWAC. All 14 players on the roster was able to get time in the game as State cruised to an 85-70 win.
The highlight of the game was probably first-year red-shirt senior walk-on Paige Woodard scoring the first four points of her college basketball career. Her fast-break layup in the final minutes got far-and-away the biggest applause from the bench.
That is what college basketball is all about!!!
Freshman Erica Donovan scored a season-high 15 points to lead five players in double-figures scoring.
Our trip is slowly coming to an end, and its been an amazing experience for everyone. One last game against the host team from Hawaii will take place Friday.
Dec. 30, 2011
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Our last game took place at 4:30 p.m., local time and after that it was a race to the airport for the always fun "red eye" flights back to Raleigh.
But first it was hoops time and State waisted no time in jumping out to a 13-0 lead, led 26-5, and never looked back in an 84-54 thumping of Hawai'i in the last game of the tournament.
Marissa Kastanek took home MVP honors, and Kody Burke was selected to the all-tournament for their outstanding play over the three-day invitational.
It was an amazing time had by all, and memories were made that will last forever, and not to mention a pretty cool trophy that now sits in the office back in Reynolds Coliseum.
