Site Map | Archives

HomeSportsLoboZone

In Her Words: UNM center Morgan Saso

related stories RELATED STORIES
related links Related Links
related linksMore LoboZone


*Note: The Tribune does not create and is not responsible for the blogosphere's headlines and stories. These links to blogs talking about ABQTrib.com are automatically generated. Use them at your own risk.

SHARE THIS STORY [?]

The Tribune handed the mike to University of New Mexico sophomore center Morgan Saso, and here's what she had to say:

Sports has always been in my family. My dad played football at Idaho, then he played for the Canadian Football League. I have an aunt who played basketball at San Francisco. My brothers played football at Nebraska-Kearney, so we're a sports family. I started playing basketball in the third grade.

My brothers have always been my heroes. I didn't really look up to anyone else playing basketball; I looked up to them. My brother Josh is 23, and my brother Tyler is 21. We're each 15 months apart, so we're all so close.

It was a challenge trying to keep up with them when I was younger. I have a scar. I had to get 16 stitches when I was trying to impress them. I was carrying this glass bowl, and I fell and cut myself. It was a little rough.

It made me tougher. I can handle a lot since they were always there to push me. I actually don't think I could handle having a sister.

I decided to come to New Mexico because the atmosphere was amazing. The coaches, the girls, the attitude, everything. Plus, it's not every day you can play in front of 10,000 people every game.

I got more confident when I redshirted my first season. When I first got here, I felt like I was in way over my head. I was only 17 years old, and I was playing against 22-year-olds, and I wasn't ready for it all. But I got more confident and used to the game.

During my senior year in high school I started working on my outside shot more. I feel really comfortable with it now. I'm not the fastest post, so I have to have a little more edge. So, I practiced that shot a lot more, and it started falling. If I've got it now, I shoot it.

It's definitely a reality check going up against post players like Val (Kast) and Angela (Hartill) every day in practice, because you can't go through them. I think it makes me tougher and reminds me how valuable my outside shot is when I need it. We push each other really hard in practice, because that's the only way you're going to be ready for the game.

The toughest person I played against was (Connecticut forward) Charde Houston in club ball back in high school. That was a butt-whooping. I basically watched her go by me.

The toughest team actually was the club team Brandi (Kimble) played on in high school. They were the West Coast All-Stars, and that wasn't fun. We got rocked. We weren't good to begin with, and we played Brandi's team one summer and lost by like 50.

My best basketball moment was the BYU home game last year. I got this great assist from Katie Montgomery, and the crowd was awesome at that moment. It was pretty special.

When I'm not playing basketball, I probably just like to relax. I like coloring coloring books. It relaxes me. Wait, that doesn't sound cool. I do anything to unwind, though. I watch TV, too.

I talk on the phone a lot. I talk to my parents like five times a day and my brothers twice a day. We're really close. I kind of have a schedule. I call my mom before class, call my dad after class, call my mom before practice, call my dad after practice and call my mom later. I call my brothers in between, and I call my parents before I go to bed.

We talk about anything. I talk about what I had for breakfast, how practice went or what I'm wearing. I just call and ask, "What are you doing?" I freak out when they don't answer the phone. It's like, "Where are they at? Are they OK?"

It's not as crazy as it probably sounds. It's just nice to be able to always talk to each other. It's like we're not even living in different cities because we're always talking.