I overheard an interesting conversation Sunday when my wife and I were out shopping for groceries. We needed to pick up a couple of odds and ends in addition to the milk and eggs we needed and we walked around the Super Target on the east side for those last minute gifts we needed.
We decided to walk towards the sporting goods section for a gift and came across the team apparel area and I over heard a little boy talking with his father while looking over some of the UTEP items.
“Dad, when are we going to see the Miners play?” the son asked.
“I don’t know son, maybe we can go tomorrow. We’ll talk it over with your mother later,” the dad said.
Much to my surprise, the little boy’s next statement threw me for a loop mainly because I assumed the boy was talking about the men’s team.
“No Dad, I want to see the UNDEFEATED Miner team. I read about them in the paper this morning.”
I was pleasantly surprised by the response and a smile came across my face. All I could think was how the young boy didn’t care about if the team was men or women, just that he wanted to see the “undefeated Miner team.”
(Selfishly, I wanted to hand them a card to tell them about Miner Illustrated, but I restrained; I’m glad the little boy is reading news.)
I think what struck me was that the boy was so emphatic about the women’s program and what was more interesting was that he understood what the winning streak meant: a 10-0 start to a season isn’t something you see every day. It’s special and is an indicator of what could happen.
A 10-0 start makes fans begin to dream of what might come as the wins pile up and what could happen if the streak continues into Conference USA play. A streak makes the mind wonder if the team will crack into the polls and it makes you appreciate what has already happened as the team etches it’s story in the history books.
Ultimately, a 10-0 start means something is right with the team and if that doesn’t say something about what Keitha Adams has done with this program, I don’t know what will.
Adams’ team continued their run through the record books Saturday in California getting their 10th win on the season as they defeated Loyola Marymount Saturday afternoon and added another win of at least 20 or more to the record (6 for those keeping record at home).
Senior Gloria Brown continued to play with fervor as did Kelli Willingham who added a season high 18 points. El Paso’s own Kayla Thornton continued to play with ferocious tenacity and Kristine Vitola has been at the right place at the right time grabbing rebounds and getting put backs.
What’s even better than the offensive prowess the team has demonstrated this season has been the masterful defensive performance. Winning by more than 20 points doesn’t necessarily mean you are an offensive juggernaut and as the case for Adams’ team, a steady defensive attack is more important than anything else. The Miners have held opponents to 53 points or less in eight of their contests this season, which includes the NMSU contest in El Paso where the Aggies were limited to an embarrassing 27 points.
That’s some good defense. Really good defense.
When my wife and I walked away and began our trek through the mess of checkout lanes, I couldn’t help but hope that the little boy gets his wish to see the women play on Wednesday to see an amazing team take the court for a potential 11th win.
I know I would want that too.
Chris Avila can be reached at show@minerillustrated.com or you can follow him on Twitter at @chrisavila_01.
Loading ...
I have a similar story to this one, but its not as cute… I was also shopping, but at the Miners store on the east-side, when I overheard two men speaking about the Women’s basketball team. One of the men asked the other if the girl’s had won on Saturday, the man replied, “Yeah, I’m sure they did.” The other man says, “Well, you know the only reason they are winning is because the teams they are playing have losing records.” I couldn’t help it and blurted out, “Well at least they are winning!” I just can’t believe some of these El Pasoans sometimes! We finally have a winning basketball team, but they some how manage to say negative things about our team.
Laura, I know it isn’t a popular thing to say but the man had a point. No doubt the Women have been impressive so far this year, but the schedule will start to pick up and then we will know for sure how good this team is. Also, I disagree with what he said about it being the ONLY reason. For all we know UTEP could be playing and beating great teams every week, but like I said until we play great teams we won’t know for sure.
All that being said, I think everyone should go out and support the Women, they have worked hard and are playing very well. We have some very talented players out there. Keep on winning girls!