Matt Weir/ The Collegian
On the court at a Fresno State woman’s basketball game, the Bulldogs can always be seen rooting their teammates on. The players who are on the bench always stand and cheer whenever a teammate sinks a three pointer, as the team lives and dies by three.
This unwavering encouragement is part of the team’s extreme dedication to building strong bonds with each other. No matter if the team is on or off the court, at a game or practice or at school or out on the town, the girls of the women’s basketball team are constantly with each other.
During the off-season, the basketball team does interesting activities such as community service, movie nights, playing board games or competitive ping-pong matches.
However, in the weeks prior to starting the college basketball season, coach Adrian Wiggins and his staff normally come together to think of extra-special activities that the team can do to really find a deep connection.
For some of the upperclassman on the woman’s basketball team these activities are common and familiar and they always look forward to participating in them.
Senior guard/forward Marnique Arnold raves about her experiences in these team-bonding activities.
“I love it because instead of just playing with someone and knowing them on the court, you can get to know them off the court by finding out where they’re from and really get to know that person,” Arnold said.
On the opposite end of the spectrum are the underclassman of the group, and these team-bonding activities can sometimes be a challenge for them, especially since this year there are only four newcomers. But for most of the group, experiences serve as an effective way of breaking the ice with the rest of the team.
With such a wide range of experience on the team, which consists of four freshmen, four sophomores, two juniors and five seniors, it is important that the teams build strong bonds, in part because, it strengthens their overall playing ability. For true freshmen, including guard Alex Furr, it has been an easy transition into the program as they have found it easy to get along with the older and more experienced players.
Furr believes that the team-bonding activities are crucial to a team’s chemistry on and off the court.
“Hanging out with them since we’re new and just being around the girls has made it easy for us, and it is easy to trust them on and off the court which builds good confidence,” Furr said.
Overall, these experiences should boost the confidence of all the team members involved. With this all-important ingredient in the making of a “well oiled machine,” the Bulldogs have a great shot at making another run at the Western Athletic Conference championship.
The team opens the regular season today on the road against Santa Clara and hosts their first home game of the season against the Cal Poly Mustangs on Nov. 17 at 6:00 p.m.