Written by Carter Thweatt \/\/ Graphic by Wagner Valdez<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Harding men\u2019s and women\u2019s basketball teams don\u2019t usually have to travel very far for their games. This past month, however, that changed in a big way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the weekend of Nov.12, the men\u2019s team went to Puerto Rico to play two local teams there. Over Thanksgiving break, the women\u2019s team did the same, playing two games in the capital city of San Juan. The teams weren\u2019t exactly sure what sort of competition level to expect, but senior Davis Morgan said the Puerto Rican teams gave them a run for their money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey weren\u2019t as tall as other teams we\u2019ve played, but they were very skilled,\u201d Morgan said. \u201cWe had to respect their ability to make shots, just like we do with every team we play.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The men\u2019s team won both games they played by double digits \u2014 the closest margin was 13. The women had a bit of an easier time \u2014 they won both games by 30-point margins, even holding Puerto Rico-Mayaguez to 20 points. Freshman Ella Grace Thompson said this didn\u2019t make the games any less enjoyable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBoth teams were really scrappy and aggressive, and it was a lot of fun to compete in the Roberto Clemente Coliseum,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cIt was a really cool environment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For fifth year guard Ramiro Santiago, who was born in Argentina, the game offered him a chance to take a more active role than usual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI had to translate for coach [Jeff] Morgan a couple of times so that he could talk to the refs,\u201d Santiago said. \u201cThat was pretty funny.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Santiago added that while the trip did help the team gain confidence on the court, it helped them in other ways, as well. Davis Morgan had similar thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t just the games,\u201d Morgan said. \u201cIt was the bus rides, the time in the airport, the many trips to get ice cream, the relaxing by the pool. We had so much fun just being with each other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Santiago shared a similar perspective about the trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe had a really good time and a lot of laughs, and that helped our team bonding,\u201d Santiago said. \u201cThe trip also helped in a basketball way, because winning the two games helped our confidence as a team.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Thompson, the trip was an opportunity to play ball, but also to visit a new place. She said that was an unforgettable experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ll remember most visiting Old San Juan,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cThere was tons of shopping and sightseeing. \u2026 It was a really pretty day to walk around and enjoy that part of San Juan.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Written by Carter Thweatt \/\/ Graphic by Wagner Valdez The Harding men\u2019s and women\u2019s basketball teams don\u2019t usually have to travel very far for their games. This past month, however,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15068,"featured_media":18128,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15068"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18123"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18123\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18129,"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18123\/revisions\/18129"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}