In an effort to better themselves on and off the court, Nevada women’s basketball is fundraising to support a trip to Spain. The team is seeking to raise $20,000 for a nine-day tour of the European country. The trip will give the Wolf Pack 10 more days of practice and three games while in Spain. With five sophomores and three incoming freshmen, the additional practice time and experience could prove invaluable to the Pack.

The $20,000 would go to cover everything from airfare and accommodations, to meals and excursions for the team. The proposed trip will have Nevada spend three nights in Barcelona and Madrid, and a two night stay in Valencia.

“I’ve never been out of the country, I think this would be a great opportunity to get to know my teammates more and to get to know the freshman coming in,” freshman forward Emma Torbert said.

Foreign trips are not uncommon for Mountain West schools. Hawai’i’s women’s team spent 10 days in Australia and New Zealand last August. Teams make these trips for more than just the extra practice and sightseeing opportunities though. The trip is also a chance to recruit internationally and spread the Wolf Pack brand —  a facet that is not lost on head coach Amanda Levens.

“As a program, we also want to extend our recruiting internationally and traveling abroad will help us do so,” Levens said.

Other than the potential practice time and team bonding opportunity that the trip would allow for, Levens also wants to stress the educational experience it could present.

“As of right now, not one player on our roster who will make the trip has ever been out of the country and this trip will be an amazing opportunity for them to experience international travel which is an amazing educational opportunity.”

Some of the proposed educational experiences include tours of the host cities and museum trips. The official team fundraiser website also stats the team will be involved in other cultural excursions but does not detail specific events. Currently, the fundraiser sits at just over $5,400. The donations given to the team have ranged anywhere from $25 to $500, and have come from 19 different donors at this time. Donations will be accepted until the night of March 31. If you would like to help the team reach its goal, you can donate to the university’s scale funder site.

Ryan Freeberg can be reached at dstrugs@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @SagebrushSports.