Members of the Eastern Oregon women's basketball team gave back to the La Grande community in a variety of ways this holiday season.
EOU Hoop Team Embodies Holiday Spirit
By Liz Brice
LA GRANDE, Ore- In the spirit of the holiday season, the Eastern Oregon University women's basketball team took time to volunteer in the community and in the process learned what the holiday season is all about.
On Tuesday, December 16th, the team picked up gifts from the Inlow building at Eastern Oregon University and delivered them to different locations around the community. The Mounties also bought gifts off an angel tree at Wal-Mart and donated them to the Salvation Army. "Contributing to a less fortunate child, made us realize how fortunate we really are. It makes you really appreciate what you have," stated junior Tana Stickney
On Wednesday, December 17th, the team traveled to Elgin and coached a sixth grade physical education class. The sixth graders sat in awe as each one of the team members introduced themselves, where they are from, and what their major is. The EOU women's basketball players then participated in relays, which were very competitive, and also played dribble shark. Dribble shark consisted of the EOU players standing in hula-hoops spread out sporadically throughout the gym and then the sixth graders had to dribble from one end of the court to the other end without getting their ball swiped away. The sixth graders really got excited and into the games, however the Eastern players were even more into the P.E. games.
"It was touching when a little girl in class came up to me and said, 'I am going to remember you, I am going to remember you,' and I was touched because I know those sixth graders looked up to all of us," stated freshman Brianna Smith on participating in the Elgin sixth grade P.E. class.
On Thursday, December 18th, the team went to visit the Wild Flower Assisted living lodge in La Grande. The team brought cookies, which they baked the night before, and played games with the elderly. They chatted with everyone, helped build gingerbread houses, sang Christmas Carols, and listened about life lessons. Kathleen Luce stated, "It was emotional at times; it was nice to hear where they all came from and what they had been through." The team connected with the entire staff and elderly at the Wild Flower Assisted Living Lodge and bonded with their new friends Dorothy and Rhoda. The Wild Flower Assisted Living Lodge is planning to come to an EOU game after the holidays.
The team noted, "Being there and spending the day with the elderly made more of a difference in our lives, than we did in theirs."
Each night this week the team got together for team dinners to talk about how powerful giving is and how taking such a small time out of your day to give back truly is a blessing. Head Coach Anji Weissenfluh noted, "This week was a good opportunity to get the girls out into the community. This week was about others inviting us in and making a huge impact in our lives. The players were touched from this experience and I hope we made a difference in others lives, like they did ours, during this special time of the year."
After a fun week of team bonding and learning life lessons, the team also found out that they received the highest team GPA for fall term, with a cumulative grade points average of 3.33.
The Mountaineers all have gone home for Christmas Break and will return after Christmas to prepare to face Division I Eastern Washington University on December 30th, at 7:05p.m.