Editor's note: Louisiana Tech's Brooke Lassiter, a senior guard and two-year co-captain, will share a weekly diary with ESPN.com throughout the season.

Dec. 10, 2001

We are flying home from Connecticut as I write this and I could not be more ready to get back to Ruston. Although I have a mile-long "to do list" waiting for me, I am ready to sleep in my own bed and quench my thirst with some wonderful sweet tea!

	Brooke Lassiter averaged 10.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists last season.

The snow was beautiful in Hartford and the cold weather was a nice change of pace, considering I wore shorts all last week in Ruston. The weather in Louisiana is so unpredictable but very nice at times. These drastic changes in temperature are doing wonders for the nasty cold I cannot seem to shake!

Our team was able to visit the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., before we furthered our preparation for Sunday's game against Connecticut. The tour was interesting and I think we all enjoyed a look back at the early stages of the game and how it has grown throughout the years. There were so many people that helped pave the way for today's players and I, for one, could not be more thankful for the opportunity we have to play this great game!

Ann Meyers, ESPN analyst and former UCLA All-American and Hall of Famer, participated in the tour with our team and it was a great pleasure to get to interact with her throughout the day. I was so appreciative of the time she spent with us and it never hurts to pick up some pointers from one of the greats from the women's game!

Coach Barmore showed us his "range" in the shooting exhibit at the Hall of Fame and Bird perfected her defensive stance in the virtual reality setting. I guess we can now believe all of coach's stories about his Bulldog playing days. It's amazing because he never even takes a warm-up shot and always drains the first one he shoots!

We took an adventurous journey to shoot around on Sunday morning from the Hilton, our hotel, to the Civic Center. Katie Cochran, our administrative assistant, went on a massive search for the closest entrance to the court and was worn out before she found the "promised land."

Needless to say, we finally made it to the court and only had to go through three parking garages to get there. I never knew it could be that difficult to find something that was attached to our hotel!

After a valiant defensive effort in the first half and parts of the second half, we came up short against the Huskies. I felt very encouraged by our improvement on the defensive end and our level of intensity from our previous outing against Duke, but we just could not get anything going offensively. There were several positives that can be taken from the game, but we still have plenty to improve on. Connecticut is a well-polished team and hopefully we will be too by the season's end!

Finally this week, I would like to congratulate the "East Coast Tag Team" for your moral victory, and I have to reward you with a box of Double Stuffed Oreos for all of your hard work!

I hope everyone has finished or is close to finishing their Christmas shopping. The days are quickly passing and I need to head to the mall soon! Family members, please send ideas quickly because I desperately need your help.

Enjoy the holiday season and remember it's main purpose. Have a wonderful week!

Brooke