By BOB THOMPSON
of the Tribune's staff

On the surface, it would seem like Missouri women's basketball associate head coach Betsy Yonkman and new assistants Edith Thompson and Tonya Warren joined Cindy Stein's staff at the perfect time.

But as the big departure day approached for the Tigers' two-week trip to Belgium and France, Yonkman couldn't help thinking about the mountain of work that would be waiting on her desk when she got back.

"I actually asked Cindy if I could stay home," Yonkman said before the team began its 12-day European excursion. "There's just so much that needs to be done right now as far as recruiting and planning that it's a bad time to be leaving for two weeks."

Stein is glad to see that her new assistants have already taken ownership of the program and care enough to worry about the details in preparing for the upcoming season. But all the Tigers were present and accounted for when they boarded the plane in St. Louis yesterday to begin their long journey to Brussels, Belgium. The Tigers will return on June 5.

The trip is a nice reward after one of the program's most successful seasons in two decades

"We're taking cell phones, and we're taking our laptops so we will still continue to work and contact the coaches of recruits that we're still trying to get in with and making arrangements for summer recruiting," Stein said. "But as much as we have other things to do, the most important thing is this team and its chemistry and that involves every facet."

The Tiger players, including last year's seniors Tracy Franklin and Marlena Williams, have been practicing hard for what promises to be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the world and represent Missouri women's basketball at the same time.

Williams will not be allowed to play because she signed a professional contract with the Indiana Fever, but is going as a special assistant to the team. Even without her, the Tigers are confident they can compete with the European teams.

"The competition is supposed to be really good, very physical and up-tempo, so we'll have our work cut out for us," said senior-to-be Natalie Bright. "These practices have been all business, so we're taking this very seriously. We'll have some fun time, of course, but we're taking these games very seriously because we want to get better as a team."

The Tigers will play five games during their trip, beginning tomorrow against the Dutch Junior National Team.

But it certainly won't be all work and no play.

They have a variety of activities scheduled throughout the trip. They will take tours of Brussels and Paris, including a visit to the Eiffel Tower.

"We're all looking forward to not only going over there and playing together, but also to have fun together as well," junior guard Kerensa Barr said. "We're going over there to win games, but at the same time we have to take advantage of this trip. Most of us have never been to Europe, so I'm real excited about it."

Stein also plans on doing some recruiting.

Calling her stateside recruits from the top of the Eiffel Tower will definitely make a lasting impression.

Reach Bob Thompson at (573) 815-1781 or bthompson@tribmail.com.