Seniors Alex Young and Caroline Stewart aren’t science majors, but they know how important chemistry is – especially when it comes to the Boston University women’s basketball team, a team they will both be second-year captains of for the 2011-12 season.
When the pair started at BU as freshmen in the fall of 2008, they had their eyes set on not only numerous goals on the court, but one off as well: a team trip abroad.
“When we came in as freshmen, we would always talk about it. We just kept asking, kept asking, kept asking,” said Stewart. “And it finally happened. The trip was a dream come true.”
The dream came true in the form of a 12-day adventure in Spain where the Terriers toured Barcelona and Madrid, among other historic Spanish sites, and got closer than anyone ever expected.
Being classmates and teammates, the Terriers already are quite close, but according to the captains, this trip was still important for both lasting friendships and on-court relationships.
“We spent every waking hour together, we got to play in a whole different country, experience a whole different culture, and the bonding was just so important,” Stewart said. “It will hopefully put us one notch above everyone else because we trust each other, and the fact that we got to experience Spain is definitely going to keep us together the whole year.”
“You think that you can only go so far, but we were with each other all the time,” added Young. “When you have 14 girls it can get a little tricky, but we had no problems.”
The team spent much of its leisure time with two tour guides – both Young and Stewart specifically mentioned Spain’s cathedrals and beaches as main attractions – to “really indulge” themselves in the culture, Stewart said.
On the court, the Terriers took part in the annual, 200-plus-team Sant Julia Tournament. BU was the first American team to participate.
The team ran up an impressive 3-1 record in four games during the tournament, the only loss coming to fourth-ranked Spanish club team Unigirona, 57-55, two days after arriving. Young, a guard who likes to shoot 3-pointers, was 4-for-7 from beyond the parabola to lead the team with 15 points.
Both Stewart and Young noted, though, that the international play took some getting used to.
“I didn’t know anything; I didn’t know what to expect,” Young said. “The style of play is a little different. They’re very quick, they didn’t have very many huge post players, so they played a lot on the perimeter, and we had to adjust to that.
“The first game was a little tough, but we adjusted to the style of play and the referees, the walking and the traveling involved.”
Stewart, a forward who usually focuses on rebounding, agreed, added that it took her a while for her to adjust defensively because of the perimeter play.
“It’s the same game, but it’s played completely different over there,” Stewart said. ‘”It definitely took a little bit of adjusting, but once we adjusted we were perfectly fine.”
She wasn’t exaggerating.
The Terriers bounced back two days later with a 70-49 victory over Reus Deportiu, and won again the next day against Igualada, 62-58. The team wrapped up its tour with a 79-71 win over Estudiantes.
In the latter two games, Young led the team offensively with 14 and 19 points respectively, a trend she hopes to continue come November.
“Any area I can help the team, be it scoring or rebounding, hopefully that will carry over,” Young said.
In addition to the four games, the Terriers were permitted to hold ten practices in preparation for their trip. The team expects the extra time on the court together to give them a leg up on the competition during the regular season, an advantage that should prove especially fruitful for the team’s three freshmen, forwards Mollie McKendrick and Nicole Tamanosky, and guard Troi Melton.
“They’ve practiced with us, they’ve played games with us before pre-season even starts, which not a lot of freshmen can say,” Stewart said. “There was a lot of information put into those compact ten days, and they responded so well. I’m proud of them, they did great, and it’s only going to help them once the season starts.”
Young and Stewart, along with the rest of the team, returned to the United States this past weekend and to classes Tuesday, but won’t soon forget the summer before their last season of collegiate basketball.
“I’m honestly so thankful that I got to go to Spain with this group of girls and I got to know each and every one of them so
much better,” Stewart said. “I feel very blessed.”
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