Lady Raider Foreign Tour Wrap-Up

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LUBBOCK, Texas -- The Lady Raiders returned to Lubbock from their Foreign Tour on Thursday, owners of a 3-0 record abroad. Here to wrap up the tour is head coach Candi Whitaker.

Hola Lady Raider Nation! We appreciate all your support and following along on our fantastic journey overseas. What a journey it has been and what wonderful people we get to share it with.

Our first stop was Lisbon, Portugal. I think for many Portugal was a favorite. Beautiful beaches, strong culture with a quaint and friendly feel to the city. We stayed in a very nice hotel inside a very large fortress. It was a dream come true for my son Westin. He located a total of 8 look-out points within the fortress. J The hotel was in a great location within walking distance to the square, restaurants, shopping, and the beach. The tuk-tuk tour of the city was a fun and unique way to tour the streets of Lisbon! The people of Portugal have great pride in their country, history, and their independence. Our last day in Cascais, we competed with each other in small groups by position in a scavenger hunt/walking tour of Cascais. The pg's (myself included) won with our creativity and attention to detail. ;) Our first game v. the Portugal All-star team was fast paced and we lived in transition. Creating turnovers, making extra passes and scoring the ball summed up this game for the Lady Raiders.

Our second stop was Madrid, Spain. My initial thought was it was like every major city (Arella immediately felt at home with a very NYC feel to it) …until we took a bike tour through the heart of Madrid. Wow, my perspective changed very quickly! It is a wonderful city that had a balance between city lights and fast-paced life with great beauty, design, and culture. I don't know if I'll take another 'bus tour' of a city again, biking is the way to go! The city tour of Toledo was a nice surprise. Medieval feel with new life! I loved the shopping, views and of course our impromptu zip-line adventure over the river. Our team is adventurous and fun! I love that about them! Our game in Madrid was very good for us. We got off to a slow start but had a span in the second quarter that showed that this team can score in bunches. This game also made us battle through some adversity with the refs and losing a 16-point lead. We learned a lot and were able to hang on to get the win 75-70.

Our third and final stop was Barcelona, Spain. Barcelona was the best of both worlds. A great city with so much to offer and beautiful beaches with the bluest of waters. We took a boat tour off the coast and had a chance to swim, float and hang out in the Mediterranean Sea. It was awesome and a highlight of the trip! The game in Barcelona was interesting to say the least. I thought our team battled and played well, but it was difficult to get and stay in a rhythm with the way the referees were calling fouls and travels. Nonetheless, it was great to get our third game under us. Our high-level passing and sharing the basketball stood out to me in this game. Our last day in Barcelona, we visited the Sagrada Familia. The bus dropped us a couple of blocks from the cathedral. As I turned the corner and caught my first glimpse, I couldn't believe my eyes! The Sagrada Familia is the most ambitious and detailed structure I have ever seen. I was in awe for the next hour as we toured and learned about the history, purpose and future of the cathedral expected to be completed in 2027. We spent the rest of the day on the beaches of Barcelona. Some of our players took the opportunity to parasail and Jet Ski in the Mediterranean. We all had a blast! We capped a great day off with a team dinner at a restaurant over-looking the city!

As we leave Barcelona I am filled with gratitude. Gratitude for this opportunity for each member of our team; gratitude for the TIME we had together; gratitude for the beautiful countries, cities and sites we experienced; most importantly gratitude for the growth this team experienced.

I would be remiss if I did not take this opportunity to thank Kirby Hocutt and Texas Tech University for investing in our program and student-athletes. This trip has impacted our players lives and experience at Texas Tech. It is a trip they will remember and reflect on as they grow older. I want to thank Melissa Maines, our director of basketball operations, for all her work in organizing and planning our trip over the last 12 months. A big thank you to Sports Tours and our tour guides Sally Gordon and Pedro Portas. The tours, hotels, restaurants, and experiences we had were fantastic and exactly what we were looking for. Thank you for accommodating our spontaneous requests! Last but not least, thank you to Riannon Rowley and Meghan Bielich for documenting our experience. They captured every moment and adventure. They had many late nights producing videos so that we could share it with Lady Raider Nation and have the memories to look back on.

Mucho Gracias!

Texas Tech University Athletics

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