The Illinois State women's basketball program is on an 11-day foreign trip (Aug. 6-16) exploring Italy. Follow the Redbirds on social media (#BirdsAbroad) and with a daily travel log on goredbrids.com. Today's blog entry post is brought to you by Advocate BroMenn Medical Center.
Friday, August 9
7:30 a.m. - Today we kicked off the day with a breakfast buffet at the hotel. We enjoyed fresh fruit, chocolate croissants, eggs, coffee, and more. The pineapple juice is always a hit!
9:00 a.m. - We entered the world's smallest country—Vatican City. Our tour guide took us through the Vatican Museum, St. Peter's Basilica, and the Sistine Chapel. We learned that the Sistine Chapel is where the election of the Pope takes place, and we saw a ton of handmade artwork.
1:00 p.m. - We had free time to rest our legs and freshen up before our FIRST GAME!
2:30 p.m. - Pre-game meal was at a local Italian restaurant a couple blocks from our hotel. Many meals here have come in multiple courses. Today, we were given bread with olive oil and vinegar when we sat down. Afterwards, we had a penne pasta with red sauce, followed by grilled chicken, roasted potatoes, and salad. Our meal was topped off with fruit salad.
6:00 p.m. - GAME TIME! We arrived at the gym on the outskirts of Rome. We played the University of Ottawa from Canada. It was a great experience getting the opportunity to play a different team!
Scrimmage Recap - The Redbirds were plagued by cold shooting despite warm temps inside the gym in their 58-44 loss to the University of Ottawa at Stella Azzura in Rome to begin their Italian tour. Sophomore Lexy Koudelka and senior Tete Maggett paced the Birds with nine points each, with Koudelka adding six rebounds. Junior transfer Juju Redmond spread out the stat sheet with six points, six rebounds, and five assists.
ISU jumped out to a 15-13 lead at the end of the first quarter, and went into the half tied at 23. The Redbirds scored the first five points of the third quarter before relinquishing the lead late in the third quarter to trail 32-37 going into the fourth. Ottawa, which finished 21-2 last season, closed the game on a 12-2 run. Coming off their best record in six seasons at 19-12, Illinois State continues their Italian tour with a game on Sunday in Florence, and wrap up on Wednesday in Como.
9:00 p.m. - We finished the day the Italian way with pizza and gelato. I'm excited to see what new adventures Florence brings tomorrow!
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