Saturday will be a day that the Northwestern girls' basketball team won't soon forget.
The squad found itself center stage during the Minnesota Timberwolves-Houston Rockets professional basketball game at the Target Center in Minneapolis.
Northwestern coach Jason Sparling used to coach in Wisconsin and took his squads to play games at the Target Center during the season. He used his contacts to arrange for a special trip for his Northwestern team.
"We're trying to create some excitement," Sparling said.
The girls boarded a charter bus on Saturday morning and went straight to the Target Center, where they watched a high school girls' game. They then had lunch and watched a high school boys' game before the real excitement started.
The Wildcats were allowed to practice for 25 minutes on the Target Center floor.
"Everybody made a basket," Sparling said.
The members of the team then watched the Timberwolves shoot around and were able to get autographs and pictures with some of the Wolves.
While the practice, photos and signatures were a bit of a surprise, what happened next was not.
Sparling had arranged for the team to be on the floor for the National Anthem standing next to the Wolves. However, a group of small children wanted to stand next to the home team, so Northwestern's girls obliged and exchanged their spots for the opposite end in front of the Rockets.
"Our girls were happy to be there and honored to be on the court," Sparling said.
He said some of his players are fans of Houston star James Harden.
"After the National Anthem, Harden came by and was fist-bumping the girls," Sparling said.
Once the game ended, the girls hopped on the bus and headed home. Sparling said his players were so pumped they sang for three hours straight on the way home.
The exciting part for Northwestern fans is that Sparling is hoping that last weekend's trip is just the tip of the iceberg.
"We're working on some fun stuff with the Minnesota Lynx to get involved with our girls to build excitement in our program," Sparling said.
He said Lynx players such as Lindsay Whalen, Seimone Augustus and Maya Moore are the type of individuals worth emulating.
"They are role models. They seem to be pretty clean cut," Sparling said. "That's the positive influence that we want with our program."
Sparling, who is in his first year of coaching the Wildcats, said his assistant coach Denise Clemens is also a role model for the girls.
"She is so smart with the game," he said. "I'm very lucky to have her. She is so positive for the girls."
Sparling said plans are in the works to possibly have Northwestern play a game at the Target Center, perhaps as early as next season.
Stay tuned, the fun might just be getting started.