L.A. Trip

We had a really special trip down to Los Angeles this past weekend.

Not only did we win both games against UCLA and USC but a lot of our team got to see their families! The weather was beautiful, almost 75 degrees and sunny, in the end of January!

Bird’s family came to the games from Bakersfield, the Samuelsons from Huntington Beach, the Robersons from Fullerton, and the Paynes traveled down with us from the Bay Area.

The best part, besides seeing all the adoring families, was that the adoring families came bearing goods! We got goodie bags full of our favorite treats from Bird’s sweet family and while we were starving at the airport waiting to go back to Stanford, Bri’s aunt surprised us all with burgers and fries for everyone!

We are so lucky to have such amazing families and support from home, love seeing everyone on the road!

— Kailee Johnson

I Love my Team

As it is now January, we are right in the middle of our season and starting our journey through the Pac-12 Conference. Being months into the season, my teammates and I spend a lot of time together. I am currently writing this on our bus ride to play at Washington State, and it makes me think how lucky I am to be surrounded by such an amazing group of girls. Every individual on this team is both an incredible player and person. I never thought that I could have 14 best friends that are all so different from each other. The personalities on this team span an extremely wide range and it is interesting to see how well we all get along, despite our differences. And despite the amount of time we spend together!

This preseason has been a great example of how close our team is. So far, this season has been a rollercoaster ride of both success and losses. However, no matter the outcome of a game, our team stays the same: united and determined to improve.

Every player on this team brings different aspects both to the game and to life with their personalities and talents. Here is a poem of different things that everyone does or likes to do:

E, Brit, Bon, Tess reading books.
Jigsaw puzzle, that’s for Rooks.
A game is on? There’s Bam, Bri, Li.
Good song is on? Dancing is Jas and Birdie.
Your lips are chapped? Just ask Kai.
She needs her chapstick, or she’ll die.
Taylor’s doing abs and glutes.
While Lex is storing her favorite fruits.
Kayl likes to play “what are the odds”
And I’m writing a poem for this blog.
There’s 15 of us on this team.
Change a single person, I wouldn’t dream.

— Karlie

47: The Number of the Universe

47 IS a magical number. Bonnie discovered the awe inspiring number at the beginning of her freshman summer in high school and ever since it has attracted a large group of believers in its amazing and lucky powers. It constantly appears when you are least looking for it; it seems to occur more frequently in nature than any other number. 47 is the quintessential random number of the universe. It has become an occasion for joy and excitement whenever 47 is spotted.

The uniqueness of 47 is explained in the following manner by Bonnie: “Say you’re receiving your order number at a restaurant: #47; you’re parking in a numbered spot in a parking lot: #47; looking up at the score of a basketball game: 47 to 47; and even watching a movie in which the secret warehouse that contains the key to success is, guess, what, #47! It’s literally everywhere you look.”

List of occurrences:

Bonnie’s first practice jersey in high school was #47

Graffiti on the wall in Italy had, you betcha, a huge #47

Bonnie’s total price for gas every time her tank is empty (literally): $47

Teacher talking in class about hard numbers to take square root of: #47

Quoted in Gone Girl: “your credit card debt is $47,000”

An entire episode of Alcatraz (show now discontinued) was devoted to a sniper who muttered “number 47” under his breath at all times

Bonnie’s dad receiving order #47 at restaurant the day that her team won CIF championship

Mission Impossible 3: Tom Cruise searching for train car #47

Bonnie and her sisters went bowling and the score was 41 to 47

We watched a movie called “47 Ronin”

And the best occurrence of all: At the end of the Uconn game this year during a full media timeout, the clock was stopped at 47 seconds. I told Erica Payne that 47 is a great sign and that if we go into overtime, we will win this game. And hey, guess what? The magic worked! In another great turn of events, our team also happened to break Uconn’s 47 game winning streak that fateful day. It was clearly meant to be. This was the moment when most of the people on our team finally believed in the magic of 47.

So the next time you see a random 47, know that it is magic and that it will bring you luck.

— Alex, with contributions from Bonnie