Happy New Year Aces Fans! Welcome back for the fourth edition of The Hart Beat! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Years with family and friends. It's hard to believe it's already January 2015!
 
Coming back from Christmas break is always exciting because it usually marks the start to the second part of the season, often known as conference play. Before starting Missouri Valley Conference play, we faced the #5/#7 Louisville Cardinals at the Yum Center. We competed against a top-notch program, and after the game we truly realized what our team is capable of when we play Evansville basketball. Our nonconference schedule prepared us for anything and everything we will face the remainder of the season.
 
We then headed on the road to Missouri State for a Friday night contest. We worked hard in practice on our defense and what we needed to do in order to be successful against them. They just posted a huge program victory by beating Missouri. After watching film, just us girls talked about their personnel and what we needed to focus on in order to beat them. We had a good start to open up the game and went into the locker-room at halftime with a lead. We controlled the majority of the game, even though we allowed MSU to creep back into the game. Free throws down the stretch sealed the win. It was a huge program victory for us!
 
The next day we headed to Wichita, Kansas, where we would run into colder weather and snow! Some of us weren't too thrilled about the snow, but it wasn't too bad. The Wichita State game was another opportunity for us to grow as a team and to see where we are in terms of clenching a championship this season. It was a tough loss for the team, because we knew we had chances during that game to win it, on their home court and in front of all their fans. After a loss like that, you just want to get on the bus and get home as soon as possible. Unfortunately, that couldn't happen.
 
Due to the cold weather and snow, a part on the bus FROZE; which also caused the bus to turn off by itself at times, so our bus driver didn't feel comfortable putting it on the road without a mechanic taking a look. While we were waiting on the bus, Coach Anya taught us a pretty funny game called Garbage. We played for a bit, which helped pass the time. Once the bus was finally fixed, we were able to get on the road. It was a very long bus ride and we made it back to Evansville at 5 a.m.
 
Now, it's time to focus on our next opponent, Loyola. We are finally back in action at the Ford Center, which is always exciting! It's a new year, and the second beginning of our season as we get into conference play. I hope to see you all there, cheering us on!
 
Until next time…

K. Hart from The Hart Beat