Scott BresslerThey sit in front of me in a semi-circle. Someone makes an inappropriate comment and they all laugh. “Don’t print that,” says one. They joke like sisters and they give each other a hard time. These four individuals certainly share a sisterly bond, but their diversity is what makes the unit so special. Women’s basketball seniors Sarah Schell, Rebecca Parker, Nicky Huels, and Jenny Southworth are living proof of the adage “The only constant is change.” While previous graduating classes have been missed for their scoring and rebounding, this class possesses an intangible closeness that cannot be taught or replaced. I sat down for a conversation with the foursome and, when they weren’t finishing each other’s sentences, their distinctiveness was evident.
Student Life: What is your best memory of Washington University basketball?
Rebecca Parker: Probably freshmen year at [Wisconsin] Stevens Point [the second round of tournament play]. The music was so loud and we were so pumped, it made me proud to be a college athlete.
Sarah Schell: Yeah, that’s when I felt I was really doing something here.
Jenny Southworth: Everyday at positive circle. It’s just a good way to start off every single practice and it’s pretty entertaining.
Nicky Huels: I don’t have just one. In the green room before every home game is what I’ll remember the most.
SL: With the UAA championship on the line, how much more important is this senior night?
RP: We all know that we’re going to win, and it being on senior night makes it that much more exciting. We wouldn’t have it any other way.
JS: It’s a chance to redeem ourselves from the loss earlier in the season. We’re definitely a different team now.
SL: How do you think you’ve changed as a player?
JS: We all play with a little bit of Coach Fahey in us. You can tell we were all coached by the same woman.
NH: I appreciate the team aspect much more.
SS: There’s a lot to take in when you first get here, and it gets in the way of just playing basketball. All those things we’ve heard for four years are innate and we just do it. Motivation isn’t a question any more.
RP: Every game from here on could be our last, so there’s nothing else to worry about.
SL: What do you hope to leave behind for the underclassmen?
RP: When [Leslie] Berger graduated [2005], she told us, “Be a sponge, take it all in.” There is so much information, and you just need to take it in and learn what you can. Everyone can teach you something.
NH: Basketball is going to go either way. You’re going to win and lose, but you need to appreciate everything around it. That’s what you remember. It’s all about the people.
SL: What’s your favorite memory of Coach Fahey?
RP: She’s so intense in the games, but the first thing she asks you when you go into her office is, “So do you have a boy?” She tries to pretend she isn’t that funny, but she is. She’s really a softie at heart.
NH: She has said the same thing in the huddle in the locker room before every game but she forgets it every time. She’s probably said the same thing for 22 years, but her mind is just on more important things.
SS: Just her daily verbal slips and things she says.
JS: I was shooting at night and she was on her way out but she stayed and rebounded for me. I shot for like an hour and a half and she stayed. She wouldn’t let me turn on the lights because she said, “This is like what you see in the movies.”
SL: What is the one thing you want to accomplish before basketball ends?
All: The obvious. Win a national championship. Especially since everyone doubted us.
SL: If you could give a gift to the basketball program, what would it be?
RP: A hot tub in the girls locker room; a masseuse for the coaches during season because they get so stressed; a bed for Coach Fahey for when she sleeps here.
NH: This is probably cheesy, but a Championship banner.
SS: That’s not cheesy, that’s my answer.
JS: Me too.
RP: Yeah, change mine to that. But a hot tub would be nice.
SL: What is one song that describes the team?
RP: It’s got to be something a little weird and obscure.
JS: And talk about how no one expected anything from us.
RP: Maybe “Climb to Safety” by Widespread Panic.
NH: I like the song we sing before we come out before every game. “It’s in my blood. I cannot lie. I’ll be a big bad bear to the day I die.”
SL: What is your favorite non-basketball memory?
RP: Sophomore year my roommate and I dressed up in Presidents masks on Presidents Day and passed out ‘Happy Presidents Day’ cards to everyone in the library.
SS: When we all went to Parker’s lake house.
NH: It sounds weird, but after we lost sophomore year, the next day we were in Jenny’s old van and on our way to Florida. No plans, just driving south.
JS: Interpretive dancing to Whitney Houston with my roommates.
SL: Describe your Wash. U. experience in 5 words or less.
RP: More strikes than gutters.
JS: Thankful for the good times.
SS: One hundred percent just fine.
NH: Like no other ride.
SL: If you didn’t play basketball here, what would you have done?
JS: Played soccer. That was an easy question for me.
RP: I probably wouldn’t have gone here, but I would be way more involved in outdoor clubs.
NH: I’d be a straight ‘A’ student with five majors.
SL: What is your greatest accomplishment in college?
RP: Meeting lifelong friends. We’re all from such different places; we’ll have friends everywhere. I guess graduating will be a good accomplishment too.
NH: Being a part of something so much bigger than my three years here. We’ll always be able to look back on that.
JS: Playing sports and still having a life and getting a good education. And the friends for life.
SS: Doing all that we do and having a fun time doing it.
SL: What is the greatest piece of advice you’ve ever received?
JS: Work hard. Play harder.
RP: From my personal finance class: Don’t buy a new car, and don’t waste your money on Fritos and beer.
NH: Coach Fahey always told me “Don’t pack your bags.” Don’t give up.
SS: Be healthy. My mom always tells me that and I think it applies to all aspects of your life.
SL: What do you use for inspiration?
NH: Each other. My teammates and family.
RP: It’s really the only way I can keep going. You look around the locker room before the game and think, ” I can’t let all these people down.”
SL: Any regrets from college so far?
All: Nope.
SL: What has WU meant to you?
JS: The D3 is nice because we can play basketball and still have a life. We don’t have the stereotypical people at the stereotypical state school. We have so many people from so many different backgrounds.
RP: It’s meant growing up and figuring things out and becoming an adult. Just learning how to live.
SS: The name and campus doesn’t really mean anything. It’s been the setting of four years of meeting great people and figuring out a lot of stuff.
SL: What would you like to tell the WU community about women’s basketball?
JS: We’re extremely thankful for the support this year. It’s been awesome.
NH: That we play on Saturday at 1 p.m.