(Editor's note: Purdue junior Shereka Wright, a 5-foot-10 forward and All-Big Ten first-team pick, will share a weekly diary with ESPN.com throughout the season.)

Dec. 20, 2002

	Wright

Sorry it took so long for me to write, but we had finals last week and I had to concentrate on them. The result: two thumbs up. My teammates and I finished well and now we can enjoy the holidays. But as far as last week ... we celebrated from a win and learned from a loss.

We played our in-state rival, Indiana, in a doubleheader with the men at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis called the "Duel in the Dome." It was very exciting because we had great fan support. The fans who came down got to see TWO great games. We beat IU by two points, but our men lost a heartbreaker by three. The turnout to the game was 32,055. That was amazing.

Then we traveled to play a tough UC Santa Barbara team and suffered out first loss of the season. Even though we lost in overtime, there were a lot of things that we learned from that game:
1) Every team is going to give us its best shot because of who we are.
2) We have to be mentally prepared to play every game and focus on what needs to be done in order to win.
3) Finally, the little things have to get done, like boxing out, getting defensive stops, taking good shots, and having fun!

If we do those things, we'll be just fine. Until next time, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Also, make sure you watch basketball over the holidays!!!!!

For more on Wright and Purdue, visit the Boilermakers' official athletic site.