(Editor's note: Texas Tech senior forward Plenette Pierson, a former Big 12 Freshman of the Year, will share a weekly diary with ESPN.com throughout the season.)

Nov. 18, 2002

Well, this week was a period of improvement for our team. During practice, we worked hard to correct some mistakes that we made against La. Tech.

	Pierson

On Tuesday, we played in our first exhibition game against Spartak Moscow. This game was very upbeat and physical. There were several fouls and several bodies being tossed to the floor. This physical game led to one of my teammates, Jolee Ayers, being punched in the jaw by a Spartak player. Jolee was taken out of the game, but her jaw was not badly injured. We scored 107 points against the Moscow team. This game gave all of our players a chance to play and be productive as a team.

Our next game was against the Houston Jaguars. I personally did not get to play much of the game because of a minor knee injury. I turned my knee wrong after being pushed by a Houston player. My knee was okay, but coach (Marsha) Sharp wanted me to be 110 percent for the home opener. We ended up scoring 97 points during this game, which, like the first exhibition game, gave our entire team a chance to play and work together to learn each other's playing style in a game situation.

At halftime of the Houston game, our team honored coach Sharp with roses in recognition of her selection for induction into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. This was a special time for our team and fans to admire and praise a fine coach like Coach Marsha Sharp.

We have a tough week ahead of us in practice in order to be ready for the home opener against Washington on Sunday. We look forward to playing at home in front of all our great fans.

For more on Pierson and Texas Tech, visit the Lady Raiders' official athletic site.