By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The Missouri Western women’s basketball team announced this month that they’re planning a 10-day trip to Greece this summer.
The Griffons will face international competition, and have the opportunity for additional practices to prepare for the upcoming season - practices they wouldn't have otherwise.
Missouri Western women's basketball coach Candi Whitaker says this time together will be especially important for evaluating any new players on the team.
"It gives us and the staff a chance to see the new kids," Whitaker told KFEQ Radio. "Start mixing things together and figuring it out. Every year is a bit different and it's always a process for a coaching staff to figure out exactly what you have and how to best utilize it."
The Griffons will be in Greece from August 14-24. They'll have 10 days of practice together in St. Joseph before they depart. The team will then play three games against international teams while abroad.
The Griffons will spend time in Athens and the island Santorini. Whitaker says this trip will cover many different places.
"Athens will be our primary location," she said, "and then we'll go to different islands off the coast of Athens and we'll fly to Santorini, and I think that's on everyone's bucket list - to see Santorini and spend some time there."
Missouri Western athletics is close to their fundraising goal of $85,000 to make the trip possible. Whitaker says they have about $5,000 still to go.
Whitaker says she took an international trip to Europe as a player at Texas Tech, and then again as the head coach at UMKC and Tech.
"I took my UMKC team to Costa Rica, I took our Texas Tech team to Portugal. It's always been a part of what I got to do as a player, and then leading programs, we've tried hard to make that happen."
The NCAA allows college basketball teams to take an international trip like this once every four years. The Missouri Western men's basketball team took a trip to Costa Rica last August where they went 3-0 against international competition.
Whitaker looks forward to a team-building experience similar to what the Griffon men experienced, and similar to what's she's experienced before as a player and coach at previous stops.
"The more your team plays together, the more chemistry they have on the floor," she said. "The more time they spend together off the floor, the more chemistry they build off the floor. All of those things play a really key role in success."
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