A summer Down Under

The last time Nicole Castro saw her parents was in January.

Castro, a walk-on from Australia and the youngest player on the women's basketball team, will join the rest of her teammates when they leave for the land of koalas and shark bites next weekend. But for her, it's a return home.

"I've been counting down," Castro said. "I'm getting used to it here now, but I'm really looking forward to laughing at my teammates when people think they talk funny. They will be in the uncomfortable situation for a change."

Castro has constantly kept in contact with her family members via e-mail since arriving in the States. Now that they can become more than words on a computer screen, there is another issue to tend to.

"Not one of us has met her family," said coach June Daugherty. "I think it will be nice when they can put a face with our names. Nicole has been a big help. She has given us insight on international rules and prepared us for how people are going to talk to us."

But the trip is half business, half vacation for the Huskies.

Traveling abroad allows coaches to work with their players three months before anyone else in the country can. That is why teams can only take a trip such as this once every four years.

"It will be a good time to prioritize what we want to do next year," said sophomore Andrea Lalum. "We won't be together too long, and we get a three-month head start on everyone."

The Huskies will play five games against four teams, headlined by the under-22 Australian national team, which should provide the best competition. They will not only be competing against the opposing team, though, but also against the strange nuances of the international game.

First, they use a men's-size ball. Not only is it bigger than what they are used to, it is made from an ultra-slick plastic that looks like it belongs on a kitchen floor.

"We've used them all spring," said freshman Kirsten Brockman of the basketballs. "They took away our women's balls, and we have used men's in practice. It shouldn't be an issue."

Another subtle difference in basketball down under is the uniforms.

They are spandex unisuits that look like they belong on surfers rather than basketball players. When the Australian teams face off against the Huskies in their baggy uniforms, it should be an interesting sight.

"I definitely like these uniforms a lot better," said Castro, who owns a unisuit uniform but left it in Australia. "But there is a plus to wearing the tight ones -- you can't grab on to anything," which means the refs won't have to use their whistles as much.

Conversely, Lalum defended the uniforms, although with a heavy dose of sarcasm.

"I wish we could wear them," she said. "Some of our teammates have sweating problems, and those are less absorbent. We could increase our aerodynamics and team speed. Matter of fact, they should spot us 10 points for the advantage they get."

But when it comes to the beaches, the Huskies and Aussies might be dressing more similarly. Fun in the sun is the other element of this trip, and a chance to bond in a foreign land will only help when they need the camaraderie in a pressure-packed second-half of a Pac-10 contest.

Many members of the team will go bungee jumping at Victoria Falls, snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef and touring Sydney. But Lalum has another objective for this trip.

"I want to see koalas," Lalum said. "I heard they eat eucalyptus and they act drunk. Then they stumble across the road, and that's why they have the koala-crossing signs."

The Montana native could be after revenge, after a hilarious experience with a koala when she went to Australia in her freshman year of high school.

"I was holding one in my arms, and someone took a picture," Lalum recalled. "The flash went off, the koala got scared and pooped on my shirt. So I won't be taking many pictures of them this time."

For Brockman, the trip is simpler because she is wearing casts on her legs below the knees.

"My main objective, since I can't play, is to get on the beach," Brockman said. "I'll be out there in a bikini and two casts. Just imagine the tan lines."