2/21/2019

Naps, playlists and prayer: How the Ohio women’s basketball team preps on game day

Alexis Eichelberger / Culture Editor

Game day goes a little differently for everyone on the Ohio women’s basketball team.

Before each game, the team will shoot around and eat a meal together, but from then on, each player has their own routine to follow, some more specific than others. Some are superstitious; others simply enjoy regularity.

Despite individual differences, players of the Ohio women’s basketball team have developed some game-day traditions they follow collectively, and the players are perhaps just a little more eager than usual to adhere to an established ritual as they continue to pursue a top rank in the Mid-American Conference.

Senior forward Dominique Doseck is almost always the first to step on the floor before a game –– and if she’s running late, her team still ensures she takes the first shot of the warm-up. While she shoots around, she wears her silver Beats headphones, which play what some might consider an unconventional playlist.

“I’m a big country music fan, which is odd obviously,” Doseck said. “Not a lot of people like listening to country to work out or warm up. But I do.”

Doseck doesn’t mind the music that’s played over The Convo speakers, but she prefers her own selections. Lately, her pregame jams of choice have come from her Spotify-made Top 100 of 2018 playlist, and songs by her favorite country artists like Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs.

“I like music that’s gonna make me happy and get me excited to play,” Doseck said. “So I’ll play my country music while we shoot around.”

The rest of her warm-up is mapped out by the minute. She knows exactly what the clock should read –– 36 minutes –– when she starts to jog across the court and stretch. At 30 minutes, she’ll head to the locker room for a few minutes before her teammates to put on her jersey. At 26 minutes, the rest of her team will join her.

“I like having my set schedule,” Doseck said. “I’m a big planner. That’s just my personality. So I like being on a schedule and knowing what’s going on.”

“Some of my teammates are superstitious, but for the rest of us, just having a routine is really helpful in getting the same outcome. We’ve had a great season, so when we’re winning, we’re like, ‘We gotta keep this up. We gotta keep doing this every game.’”Amani Burke

Junior guard Amani Burke has a few important elements in her pregame routine, too. Like Doseck, she chooses a playlist of music that’s upbeat to listen to while shooting around. But before she gets to The Convo, there are a few other important items on the agenda.

“I kind of just always have to take a nap before the game and always, like, rejuvenate in that way,” she said.

Since her freshman year, Burke has also prayed three times on game days: once before she goes to the gym, once during the national anthem, and once before tipoff for the five starters. That routine began in college, but her pregame prayers have roots that trace as far back as her high school basketball career.

“I’m huge in my faith,” Burke said. “And my brother was also a basketball player, and he talks about the power of it and meditation and stuff. He’s definitely a big influence, but also my family.”

Burke’s teammates embrace her habit, too. Someone always reminds the group about the pregame prayer, and they always choose Burke to lead them.

(From left to right) Amani Burke (#3), Gabby Burris (#41) and Alexandra Antonova celebrate a three point shot against Akron University.

“They definitely are into it,” Burke said. “We always have to take time to do that first, when we play.”

It seems that most of the Ohio women aren’t overly superstitious, but the team has a few quirks they feel the need to follow together. Some players insist on always standing in the same spot in the huddle, and it’s imperative everyone makes their last shot during the pregame warmup.

Burke isn’t sure why, exactly, they feel the need to stick to their habits. She knows it won’t really have an effect on the game’s outcome –– but they do it anyway. Especially this year. The Bobcats are currently 21-3 overall with 10 wins in the MAC, putting them in second place in the conference.

“Some of my teammates are superstitious, but for the rest of us, just having a routine is really helpful in getting the same outcome,” Burke said. “We’ve had a great season, so when we’re winning, we’re like, ‘We gotta keep this up. We gotta keep doing this every game.’”

Development by: Megan Knapp / Digital Production Editor