Adventures on the road at nationals

Post-season basketball on any stage brings a new level of excitement.

Two weeks ago, I was privileged to cover the Tabor College women?s and men?s campaigns at their respective NAIA Division II national basketball championships in Sioux City, Iowa, and Point Lookout, Mo.

For a sports reporter, there?s nothing quite like covering a national tournament. The spirit of competition, the fans, the environ?ment?not to mention the win-or-go home reality?all make for some of the best basketball I?ve ever watched.

Here?s a glimpse of what I experienced during my time at nationals.

? Both Tabor teams won KCAC regular season titles this year?the first time since 2004-05?to punch their tickets to nationals. Of the 269 NAIA Division II basketball programs, only 64 teams? dreams of playing on the national stage are realized.

For both Tabor teams to earn bids to their respective 32-team tournaments is quite the accomplishment.

? In traveling from Hills?boro to Sioux City to Point Lookout to Sioux City and back to Hillsboro, I covered 1,676 miles over the course of five days.

In equivalent miles, I could have nearly traveled from Hillsboro to Portland, Maine. Good thing I had phenomenal road trip companions to help make the miles pass quickly. Thank-you to everyone who was willing to let me tag along.

? You don?t think about lighting in a venue?unless you?re taking photos. The Tyson Events Center in Sioux City has, hands down, the best lighting in which I?ve ever shot.

My lens?while small compared to those around me?performed remarkably well, capturing some of the best photos I have ever taken. I took 574 photos over the course of four games.

? Tabor fans travel well. Whether it was to Sioux City, Branson or both, the Blue?jays were represented by a crowd of blue-clad, towel-waving supporters.

For the Tabor women?s final game, although it felt like a home-crowd atmosphere for Briar Cliff, whose campus is in Sioux City, I?d estimate Tabor?s student section had three times the fans as Briar Cliff?s.

Granted, Briar Cliff was on spring break. But still. Those Tabor students endured 11-plus hours of riding on a yellow school bus to support their team. That?s dedication.

? One morning I struck up a conversation with an NAIA official in the fitness room of the hotel in Sioux City. Himself a Great Plains Athletic Conference official, when he heard I was a Tabor graduate, he asked if I knew of former Tabor women?s basketball coach Shawn Winter.

I?m discovering one can find a common connection with most anyone in the athletic world.

? This trip allowed me to live in the moment, never knowing what the next day might bring. It was especially fun to say, ?I need to book another night,? as the women kept winning. Good thing I packed for a week. I wouldn?t have minded staying a few more days.

? I learned I have a relative on the Tabor women?s team?our grandmothers are first cousins. I discovered this after meeting her mother in Sioux City. It?s a bit distant, but fun, nonetheless.

? When it comes to courtside seating, I am privileged with the best seat in the house. Taking pictures on the baseline, I have a front seat to the action. Some?times, I even get in on it unintentionally.

In Point Lookout, I was stepped on twice by an official, despite situating myself nearly a foot behind the line marked for photographers. I?m glad he didn?t trip.

In Sioux City, a player ran into me. During Saturday?s game against Briar Cliff, one of the Chargers came chasing the ball out of bounds in my direction. I had no time to react, and she stumbled over me, knocking me back on my elbow. ?Are you OK?? she asked before getting up and trotting back onto the court.

There?s a first time for everything.

? At one point during my journey, I wrote, ?I feel like the luckiest girl in the world.? I?d say that?s an accurate description for experiences like these.

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