(Editor's note: Purdue senior Katie Douglas, a 1999-2000 Kodak All-American, will share a weekly diary with ESPN.com throughout the season.)

Nov. 20, 2000

	Katie Douglas led the Big Ten in scoring last season with a 20.4 average.

Hello everyone. I hope all is going well for ya'll. Tonight is a big night for us -- we are in the championship game of the Preseason WNIT. We play Louisiana Tech around 8:15 here in Mackey Arena. I am getting pretty excited and focused for the game. Although we just beat Texas last night, I hope that we play even better tonight and come out with the title.

About last night's game versus Texas ... We played about as well as I have seen our entire team play so far this season. Yes, we made some mistakes, but as a collective unit we played with a lot of enthusiasm, something that might have been lacking a bit in the previous games. I am confident that tonight we are going to come out and do the same thing, this being the title game and all.

I think our veterans can remember playing La. Tech around Christmas time last year. It probably was one of the worst road trips ever. We played down in Ruston and got beat by 32 points. It was our worst defeat of the year by far. Needless to say, the upperclassmen have some unsettled business and are looking forward to the rematch. We've tried to explain to the freshmen what that experience was like, and hopefully they'll come to bat for us, too.

Off-court life
Last week my diary entry was a little uneventful, and I apologize for that. But throughout this week I decided to think of things that you might like to read about. So here are some things that have been on my mind lately.

First, about school, since that is my main priority at Purdue. I finally finished the web page that I had been working on endlessly. I know it is not professional by any means, but I am pretty proud and happy with the way the whole project turned out. Now that my web site is completed, I have two more huge projects that I have to focus on for the remainder of the semester. But right now, I am ready for Thanksgiving break.

Speaking of Thanksgiving break, I am happy to say that our team will be traveling to Cancun, Mexico, for the Torneo Cancun de Basquetbol. I have never been to Cancun but have heard it is awesome, so I am really excited. I hear that the weather is warm, somewhere around 85 degrees. That sounds pretty nice considering it is snowing and freezing here. We leave on Thursday and return on Monday afternoon. When we are down there we will play games against Montana State and South Carolina. I think that it will be an all-around great experience for our team.

Finally, I would like to commend our football team for its victory against Indiana on Saturday. Not only did we beat our in-state rival, but the win also qualified us for the Rose Bowl! We haven't been there in more than 30 years, and it is an exciting time for our program.

I am glad to say I was at the game on Saturday to witness the outcome. I was freezing cold, sitting on the 15-yard line in the third row. Some of my teammates were with me and we think that in the third quarter we were on ABC. I tried calling some of my friends who were supposed to be watching the game and of course, they didn't answer. But I did find out today from someone who watched the game that they thought they saw me. So I am convinced that it was me and feel pretty cool to have been on national television.

Anyways, congrats again to our football team. We hope that kind of success carries over to us in our season.

Well, enough of my life's events. I have to go home and take my ritual pre-game nap. Thanks for your time. Come back and hear about our trip to Mexico next week. I'll be sure to recount some funny stories.

KT Douglas