Nov. 23, 2004

Week 2: Nikki Flores, Freshman, Guard, 5-4, Montvale, NJ

1. The team traveled to Delaware State last weekend, how did you like your first road trip?
It was new and interesting. I had never been on a road trip with my high school team before and I liked it cause it was different. I liked how the team bonded on the bus even though it was a long drive. Nothing too crazy happened this time.

2. What did it feel like to play in your first collegiate game?
I got in the game in the first half and I was scared out of my mind! I must have looked white cause one of the girls turned to me and asked if I was okay and told me to calm down. But once I started playing in the second half and got more comfortable with it, I actually felt like I belonged there. I just felt out of place before cause I wasn't used to it.

3. How did you feel once you scored your first collegiate points and then later took a big charge to draw a foul?
Well that charge hurt. But yeah, I got more comfortable with it once I broke my first sweat and scored. For me, I usually have to do something good to feel comfortable in the game so if I make a good trap or shot or pass, my confidence grows from there.

4. Three months into your freshman year, what do you like best about Marist so far?
Well I definitely like it better than high school because of the scheduling. Instead of going from school from 8:00 to 2:00, now I can go to class then sleep then go to practice. And the whole athletics program is great. The professors support it and don't really give you a hard time if you have to miss class. It's a good, close- knit community

5. At what point in the recruiting process did you know that Marist was right for you?
I had a really hard time with my recruiting process. In high school I played on an elite team that was among the best in the tri-state area. My junior year, I played behind a girl who was very good and I didn't really play that much. So all the schools that had been giving me looks my sophomore year kind of dwindled and I was struggling. I had been leaning towards Lafayette but Marist pulled through and the full scholarship definitely helped my decision. I wanted to play for a winning program and I knew that even before the MAAC Championship last year Marist had been getting better and better. I'm used to being a part of a winning program, whether I play or not, so this is probably the best fit for me.

6. Your first break away from Marist is coming up this week, do you have any big plans?
Thanksgiving dinner! I don't have anything really special planned, just trying to relax and be with my family.

7. Do you have a favorite part of the whole Thanksgiving thing?
Dessert, dessert is definitely my favorite. And the whole football game thing, I don't really watch but I just go cause everyone is there and its good to see old friends.

9. Can you tell us a little more about the whole "Lilo and Stitch" interest? Will your Stitch doll be making every road trip?
Oh, I love "Lilo and Stitch!" Oh yeah, Stitch is making every road trip, even though we started off with a loss, we'll see how the next few games go with Stitch on the road with us. I just fell in love with that movie and now I am so into it. You might call it an obsession but let's not go there.

9. Back to basketball, do you have any pregame superstitions or routines?
Yeah and I actually started a few this year. The biggest one that I have had since high school and that our trainer Trish made fun of me for is that I always get my left ankle taped first and then my right. It was this big thing my senior year in the state championship season. All year, our trainer taped my left ankle and then my right. Before the championship game she finished taping my right ankle and then she got to my left and she stopped. She was like, "don't we usually tape the left and then the right?" I said yes and she said "take it off right now!" And then she taped the left first and we ended up winning the state championship and I got MVP. So it's been a big, big superstition ever since. Some of the new ones since Marist are that I always wear a specific shirt on game day and have a bracelet on my left hand before. And I have to have a specific pair of socks - but they always get washed, they're not dirty socks!

10. Now that you have one game under your belt what are you looking to improve upon for St. Bonaventure this weekend? Do you feel like you'll be more confident?
I definitely need to work on my passing that's a big area, especially on cutting down my turnovers and upping my assist ratio. I need to do the simple things like run the ball a lot, look for the open girl and just make the easiest pass. I think the first game jitters are out and I think that I should be more comfortable. I've been more confident in practices already and I hope I can be better in the second game.

Next up: Freshman forward Sarah Smrdel

If you have any questions that you'd like us to ask Sarah, please e-mail dara.ely@marist.edu