Ezell Update from Taipai

AMES, Iowa - Iowa State junior guard Heather Ezell has been traveling with the U.S. Jones Cup Team over the last week and a half. She had her best game yet in the team's win over the Korean team, scoring 18 points and committing no turnovers. The team has been in Taipei, Taiwan, since July 11 and will remain there through July 17. This is her third diary and she will write one more when she returns from Taipai. Check back soon to cyclones.com for her final entry.

Hello again from Taipai!

We are almost done with the tournament. Just one more game, and it will be for the bronze medal, which is exciting. Since I wrote last we have won two more games and had a day off.

First off we played against the Korean team on Saturday. They had a post player that was drafted with Leah Rush in the WNBA but did not make it. They were a good team, but we beat them (94-68). This was my best game of the tournament so far. I had 18 points, two assists, and probably the best stat was 0 turnovers!

Sunday was our day off, and we took full advantage of it. We actually did not get to sleep in, but instead got up around 8 a.m. and went to an orphanage. It was a very heart-filling experience with all the little kids they had. I got really attached to a 10-month old baby boy, who actually fell asleep in my arms, and I didn't want to give him up. After that we went to the Taipai 101 building which, like I said earlier, is the tallest building in the world. Viewing Taipai from this building was beautiful and I took many pictures of it. After that we went to the Taipai Zoo, which was so much fun. The zoo was huge and we didn't have a whole lot of time, but we made the best of it and almost got through the whole park.

After the zoo, we came back to our hotel and had dinner, then headed off to the Night Markets in downtown Taipai. This was the best part of the day, but also the grossest. There were thousands of people in these little alleyways, all trying to get the best bargain on name brand things.

On Monday, we played New Zealand, which was a really good game. New Zealand was the one team that played most like an American team. It was a close game until the end when we pulled away and won by over 20 (81-60). I ended the game with 8 points and 6 rebounds.

After the game, we went out to dinner with the New Zealand team at TGI Friday's, which was a lot of fun. And yes, there are American restaurants close to our hotel, including Outback, which was inside our hotel.

On Tuesday we play the other Taiwan team at 5:30 p.m. and if we win that game we will get the Bronze medal. After the 7:30 p.m. game, there will be a ceremony to present medals. Hopefully we will be part of that.

Other than that we will head back to the States on Wednesday. I can't believe this experience is almost over, but I can guarantee it is something I will never forget. Thanks for reading and I will see you guys back in Ames soon!

Take Care and Go Cyclones!

Heather Ezell