Completed Event: Women's Basketball at Eastern Kentucky on March 19, 2026 , Loss , 58, to, 72
Final Score
Women's Basketball
58
at Eastern Kentucky
72
The University of Utah Athletics
Utes Take Italy: Potter Talks Florence
8/11/2017 3:28 PM | Women's Basketball
Before I dive into the next portion of our trip in Florence let's do an update of the miles we have walked:
Tuesday, Aug. 8: 6.04 miles
Wednesday, Aug. 9: 7.41 miles (not including the game)
Thursday, Aug. 10: 3 miles (before we left for Venice)
After we arrived in Florence, it was so nice to take a shower and we stayed in a cute hotel that was more local and not part of a chain. We then ventured out for dinner and found a little pasta place that was to die for. I really needed to lay off the pasta by this point because I was having it for basically every meal, but I saw gnocchi on the menu and I had to get it. It was the best I have ever had in my life, and that is no exaggeration. Every bite got better and better. It had just a nice tomato sauce and some mozzarella and parmesan (is your mouth watering yet?). Other girls on the team got fettuccini alfredo with chicken or a baked pasta with ham and cheese inside. That dinner has been my favorite meal of the trip thus far! After dinner, we walked around a bit, and as we turned the corner of a street, this giant church came into view. The sides were covered in red, green and white marble and it was spectacular. I felt like I was breaking my neck looking up at it and my jaw was dropping! We later came to find out it was the Duomo church. I just don't know how to describe the magnitude of some of these buildings in Europe. You just have to see them with your own eyes to understand it.
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After we took 50 pictures of this giant building, we got gelato and made friends with the guys who worked there. So many people have been asking us "basketball or volleyball" everywhere we go. Even on the other side of the world people are amazed by our height and continue to stare! I guess some things never change. We headed back to the hotel to get some rest before Wednesday's next adventure after our late night snack.
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We woke up Wednesday realizing it was GAMEDAY, but first we had some sights to see. We started the morning off with another breakfast with a view, this time overlooking Florence. From breakfast, we walked around Florence and saw The David statue in a museum, the Duomo church in the daylight, and the Ponte Vecchio bridge. The David was massive and the one thing you must see if you go to Florence. He is 15 feet tall and weighs seven tons, and the artist who sculpted him, Michelangelo of course, was one talented man. I have heard that he was kind of a handful to work with, but I feel like people could let it slide because he was so great. To think that artists had such skill and patience 500 years ago is amazing. Michelangelo even attended dissections of the human body so that he could better learn how to sculpt. It paid off as The David was the best depiction of the human body at the time of its completion in 1504.
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After the David, we walked back to the Duomo as it was just as amazing in the light. Our guide said that though the outside is breathtaking, the inside is rather plain. Nonetheless, there was a huge line to get inside so we continued along. We passed many little markets where you can bargain to get good deals as we headed to the Ponte Vecchio bridge. This bridge was one of the only bridges not destroyed in WWII by bombs, because rumor has it that Hitler said it was too beautiful to destroy. The bridge is also the only one with shops on it in Florence. The bridge was full of super expensive jewelry shops that were way out my price range, but the middle opened to a view of the river which was great for another photo shoot. After we got to the bridge, we had free time until our pregame meal! As we walked back towards the hotel, we checked out the shops along the way before settling in for a nice nap. After pregame meal, we had more downtime until we departed for the game.
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I was actually pretty nervous for the game because even though it doesn't count as a win or a loss, I still always get butterflies. It had been so long since I played a basketball game. Like real life referees and game warmups and locker room pregame talks, so it was exciting for sure. The gym was about an hour away, so we had time to get in the right frame of mind and listen to some music. The gym was a lot cooler than we expected which was a plus, but the humidity still made warmup a breeze as we got nice and loose real quick.
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The team we played was a travel team from Germany and had many older experienced players. Europeans are always very crafty and smart in how they play and more physical. The game started off slow and you could tell it was our first time out there, but I thought we responded well with great rebounding and we got the W! It was the freshman's first time in a Ute jersey and I am really proud of how they conducted themselves and their contributions on the floor! This game just made me so happy and excited for the season, and especially thankful for the opportunity to play basketball on the other side of the world! We have a great group and I can't wait to show all the Ute fans what we've been working on once season starts.
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We celebrated the win with some pizza and a dance party on the bus with some throwback jams. We had some Usher, Chris Brown, TLC and much, much more playing through Wendy's speaker. Our trainer and strength coaches also told us to keep hydrating, so we had fun with a water bottle chugging contest. Megan Jacobs was the winner by far, and it was quite impressive if you want to ask her to show you sometime. After we got back to the hotel, we showered, changed and hit the city for some food. We met some nice people from the UK and even found an American spot to hang out and get some snacks. We knew that we had walked kind of far and that our hotel was about 15 minutes away, but we were having so much fun we didn't want to leave.Â
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We went right to sleep after our marathon in the street, but those are the kinds of memories with my team that I will remember forever, even though I was super stressed that we were going to be late.
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Thursday morning was a time to sleep in and get some last-minute shopping in before we departed for Venice. After another fantastic breakfast, we checked out of our rooms and had a few hours to roam the markets. Leather is the thing to buy there and they had everything from purses, wallets, and luggage, to belts and jackets. Girls on the team bought bags and jackets and the coaches (being the big ballers they are) for sure dropped a couple bills on some cool stuff. We loaded up the bus with all our bags and we were on our way to Venice! Florence was a smaller more relaxed city than Rome, but equally as fun and cute. I am definitely ready for some ocean and water views at our next destination.
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Ciao!
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- Emily Potter
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Tuesday, Aug. 8: 6.04 miles
Wednesday, Aug. 9: 7.41 miles (not including the game)
Thursday, Aug. 10: 3 miles (before we left for Venice)
After we arrived in Florence, it was so nice to take a shower and we stayed in a cute hotel that was more local and not part of a chain. We then ventured out for dinner and found a little pasta place that was to die for. I really needed to lay off the pasta by this point because I was having it for basically every meal, but I saw gnocchi on the menu and I had to get it. It was the best I have ever had in my life, and that is no exaggeration. Every bite got better and better. It had just a nice tomato sauce and some mozzarella and parmesan (is your mouth watering yet?). Other girls on the team got fettuccini alfredo with chicken or a baked pasta with ham and cheese inside. That dinner has been my favorite meal of the trip thus far! After dinner, we walked around a bit, and as we turned the corner of a street, this giant church came into view. The sides were covered in red, green and white marble and it was spectacular. I felt like I was breaking my neck looking up at it and my jaw was dropping! We later came to find out it was the Duomo church. I just don't know how to describe the magnitude of some of these buildings in Europe. You just have to see them with your own eyes to understand it.
Â
After we took 50 pictures of this giant building, we got gelato and made friends with the guys who worked there. So many people have been asking us "basketball or volleyball" everywhere we go. Even on the other side of the world people are amazed by our height and continue to stare! I guess some things never change. We headed back to the hotel to get some rest before Wednesday's next adventure after our late night snack.
Â
We woke up Wednesday realizing it was GAMEDAY, but first we had some sights to see. We started the morning off with another breakfast with a view, this time overlooking Florence. From breakfast, we walked around Florence and saw The David statue in a museum, the Duomo church in the daylight, and the Ponte Vecchio bridge. The David was massive and the one thing you must see if you go to Florence. He is 15 feet tall and weighs seven tons, and the artist who sculpted him, Michelangelo of course, was one talented man. I have heard that he was kind of a handful to work with, but I feel like people could let it slide because he was so great. To think that artists had such skill and patience 500 years ago is amazing. Michelangelo even attended dissections of the human body so that he could better learn how to sculpt. It paid off as The David was the best depiction of the human body at the time of its completion in 1504.
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We got to see the statue of David, Ponte Vecchio and The Duomo today in Florence! #UtesTakeItaly pic.twitter.com/QBjeAOHzcQ
— Utah WBasketball (@UTAHWBB) August 9, 2017
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After the David, we walked back to the Duomo as it was just as amazing in the light. Our guide said that though the outside is breathtaking, the inside is rather plain. Nonetheless, there was a huge line to get inside so we continued along. We passed many little markets where you can bargain to get good deals as we headed to the Ponte Vecchio bridge. This bridge was one of the only bridges not destroyed in WWII by bombs, because rumor has it that Hitler said it was too beautiful to destroy. The bridge is also the only one with shops on it in Florence. The bridge was full of super expensive jewelry shops that were way out my price range, but the middle opened to a view of the river which was great for another photo shoot. After we got to the bridge, we had free time until our pregame meal! As we walked back towards the hotel, we checked out the shops along the way before settling in for a nice nap. After pregame meal, we had more downtime until we departed for the game.
Â
I was actually pretty nervous for the game because even though it doesn't count as a win or a loss, I still always get butterflies. It had been so long since I played a basketball game. Like real life referees and game warmups and locker room pregame talks, so it was exciting for sure. The gym was about an hour away, so we had time to get in the right frame of mind and listen to some music. The gym was a lot cooler than we expected which was a plus, but the humidity still made warmup a breeze as we got nice and loose real quick.
Â
The team we played was a travel team from Germany and had many older experienced players. Europeans are always very crafty and smart in how they play and more physical. The game started off slow and you could tell it was our first time out there, but I thought we responded well with great rebounding and we got the W! It was the freshman's first time in a Ute jersey and I am really proud of how they conducted themselves and their contributions on the floor! This game just made me so happy and excited for the season, and especially thankful for the opportunity to play basketball on the other side of the world! We have a great group and I can't wait to show all the Ute fans what we've been working on once season starts.
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FINAL | Utah 53 TK Hannover 42 Huff 14pts :Potter/Huff 9rbs: Erika Bean 3 asts : Kiana Moore 2stls #GoUtes #Elevate #UtesTakeItaly pic.twitter.com/SR8cKd1JCH
— Utah WBasketball (@UTAHWBB) August 9, 2017
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More than deserving! Thanks, Nona, for all that you do for our program and Utah Athletics! #ShesDaMan #GoNona #GoUtes @Nona_Richardson https://t.co/M2JbqQFecT
— Utah WBasketball (@UTAHWBB) August 10, 2017
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We celebrated the win with some pizza and a dance party on the bus with some throwback jams. We had some Usher, Chris Brown, TLC and much, much more playing through Wendy's speaker. Our trainer and strength coaches also told us to keep hydrating, so we had fun with a water bottle chugging contest. Megan Jacobs was the winner by far, and it was quite impressive if you want to ask her to show you sometime. After we got back to the hotel, we showered, changed and hit the city for some food. We met some nice people from the UK and even found an American spot to hang out and get some snacks. We knew that we had walked kind of far and that our hotel was about 15 minutes away, but we were having so much fun we didn't want to leave.Â
Â
We went right to sleep after our marathon in the street, but those are the kinds of memories with my team that I will remember forever, even though I was super stressed that we were going to be late.
Â
Thursday morning was a time to sleep in and get some last-minute shopping in before we departed for Venice. After another fantastic breakfast, we checked out of our rooms and had a few hours to roam the markets. Leather is the thing to buy there and they had everything from purses, wallets, and luggage, to belts and jackets. Girls on the team bought bags and jackets and the coaches (being the big ballers they are) for sure dropped a couple bills on some cool stuff. We loaded up the bus with all our bags and we were on our way to Venice! Florence was a smaller more relaxed city than Rome, but equally as fun and cute. I am definitely ready for some ocean and water views at our next destination.
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Ciao!
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- Emily Potter
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Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
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