“It was amazing to share a little of where we came from to various students.”
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The women’s team spent an afternoon with Special Olympics Iowa athletes during the NAIA women’s national tournament in Sioux City in March.
NOT ALL ABOUT THE GAME
Senior Lauren Peters and the women’s basketball team visited Sacred Heart School in Sioux City, Iowa, during their trip to the NAIA national tournament in March.
Women’s basketball team serves others during tournament The Ave Maria University’s women’s basketball team not only got the chance to play in two national tournaments, but were also able to give back to the communities they visited.
thing we all enjoy doing is helping others,’’ said senior forward Erin Murphy. The first trip was to Uniontown, Pa., where team members participated in the USCAA national tournament. The team visited St. John
was Sioux City, Iowa where the women had the chance to spend a morning with the Special Olympics at the Tyson Center. “We shared our basketball skills with them as
the Evangelist Regional Catholic School.
they shared their laughter and smiles with us. Our
“When we entered the school we were treated with
and we had such a great time. Not only did we get to
doughnuts, muffins, orange juice, and any other breakfast sweet you could think of. The faculty and staff were so welcoming. We felt super comfortable,’’ she said. Then the team got ready to read to various grades
whole team was in such high spirits the whole morning play basketball with them, we also showed them some of our dance moves, but at the end of the day they stole the show with their dance moves. The Special Olympics honestly left such an imprint on all of our hearts,”
at the elementary school level. They read “Monty the
Murphy said.
Cat of Ave Maria” by Ave Maria resident Patricia Sette.
Before the first game in the NAIA national tournament,
They also visited with the seventh and eighth-graders to help prepare them for high school and discussed the advantages of being student-athletes. “It was amazing to share a little of where we came from to various students,’’ Murphy said. The next stop
the team visited Sacred Heart School near Sioux City. Team members encouraged all of them to continue their athletic careers in high school because it offers opportunities for leadership, teamwork and the potential to play collegiate athletics.
ave ma r ia maga z i ne | ave ma r ia.edu
“Playing basketball is what we love doing, but another
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