Hello Aces fans! Welcome to the last post of the Hart Beat.
 
As a senior, I want to say thank you to everyone who followed our season and cheered us on as we competed in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament earlier this month. We truly appreciate all the support!
 
A lot has happened since I last wrote, so I'm just going to jump right in!
 
Senior Day/Last Game in the Ford Center
It's hard to believe that I will not step foot into the Ford Center as a student athlete anymore. I have plenty of memories that I will never forget.
 
Senior day was pretty special. I was fortunate that my older sister flew in from Texas, and my grandma was able to drive down from Indianapolis to see my last game as an Ace. I was really happy for my two classmates, Kat Taylor and Mallory Ladd; all three of us have been through a lot in our careers at UE yet we were able to finish strong. Our teammates put together a really nice collage of pictures that I will be able to look back at years from now and reminisce all the funny things we did together. The coaches, teammates, and fans sent us seniors out on a positive note!
 
MVC Tourney
We finished 7^th in the MVC, which meant we would have to play on Thursday night. We played the number 10 seed, Illinois State, which I believed was a great matchup for our team since we swept them during the regular season. I felt confident that we would handle our business and move to the second round of the tournament.
 
Because we won, we advanced to the MVC Quarterfinals to face the Drake Bulldogs. As a team, we wanted to play Drake again because we knew we could beat them, and we did just that! It was the most exciting game I think I have ever played in. Drake had a ton of fans at the game, while we had one small section filled with purple and orange. It was awesome. I can remember during the game, Kat looked at Mallory and I and said, "We are going to send these girls home." That was the mindset of our entire team. Because we believed we could make it happen, we did! I do not think anybody else believed the 7^th seed would upset the 2^nd seed. I saw a lot of tears from their team and even the Drake fans. I will never forget that night!
 
Last Play
As I realized my basketball career was coming to an end the following day, I honestly had no thoughts or emotions at the time. I walked into the locker room after the game and I did not know what to really say or do. I was in a bit of shock because it just did not seem like the ride should be over. Before we left, Kat, Mallory, and I thanked the rest of the team for making our last year apart of the Lady Aces memorable.
 
In closing, again I would like to thank each and every person who has been instrumental in making my career special.
This is Khristian Hart signing off from the Hart Beat!
 
GO ACES!