MISSOULA, Mont. – John and Pamela Ernest have followed their youngest daughter, Heather, all the way to Hawaii and back during her stellar career with the University of Maine women’s basketball team.

This week, the Ernests have the chance to enjoy a career first – a trip to the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament.

Coach Sharon Versyp’s Black Bears (25-6) arrived here Thursday to begin preparing for Saturday’s 9 p.m. first-round game against 12th-ranked Texas Tech (25-6).

“It’s been quite an experience. We’ve enjoyed it,” John Ernest said during Thursday’s six-hour flight (via Fargo, N.D.) from Bangor to Missoula.

Ernest, a math teacher at Jay High School, had retired from teaching a couple of years ago after 25 years at Mt. Blue High in Farmington. He agreed to end his retirement only after explaining he would need time off to watch Heather play basketball.

Ernest, a slender forward from Temple, emerged into a two-time America East Player of the Year and one of the best ever at UMaine.

“Right from the get-go, everybody was concerned about her build and … I was afraid for her heath, I really was,” her dad admitted.

Of course, the rewards reaped by Ernest during her time at UMaine go beyond basketball.

“It’s like Heather said, the opportunities that are there, the people she’s met, the places she’s gone, you can’t really replace that. It’s a good situation,” John Ernest added.

Chuck and Terri Underwood of Benton, the parents of freshman Ashley Underwood, feel blessed to have shared their daughter’s first season.

“It’s almost like a magic ride and you don’t want to get off it, you don’t want it to stop; you don’t know when it’s going to stop,” Chuck Underwood said. “It’s just been an enjoyable experience for us as parents to be around fantastic people, the other parents and of course the girls, and the coaching staff is marvelous.”

Underwood, who works under assistant principal Bill McManus at Lawrence High in Fairfield, has attended many games this season. He and three other UMaine dads made the trip to Indiana University for the game there.

“We went to see the girls play and we also wanted to go to Assembly Hall, where Bobby Knight coached and had that grand basketball tradition,” Chuck Underwood said.

“Every one of the parents, we’re just like a team,” he added.

Warming up to Missoula

OK, so maybe one shouldn’t fault the flight attendants on UMaine’s charter flight for not knowing how to pronounce the name of their destination (it’s not Mazola, like the corn oil).

TransMeridian Airlines delivered the UMaine contingent of 99 players, coaches, administrators, staff, cheerleaders, band members, media and fans to Missoula without a hitch. The group walked off the plane and was energized to feel the 65-degree air as the wind whipped it through the Missoula valley and across the tarmac.

The trip was smooth, considering neither school officials nor anyone else knew the travel itinerary as few as 23 hours earlier.

Terry Kix, UMaine’s senior women’s administrator and head field hockey coach was among the officials who agonized trying to put together a game plan while waiting for the NCAA’s travel agency to formulate an itinerary.

Kix explained the designated agency had difficulty securing flights, either charter or commercial, from Bangor to Missoula.

“It became a little bit of a difficult situation and we just tried to stay positive,” Kix said. “We knew they had to get us out there sooner or later.”

Kix credited Peter Ramsey of Main 1 Travel in Bangor with helping put together the arrangements.

“We were very fortunate. [Ramsey] was clutch and really helped make the charter happen and really guided us along the way,” she said.

UMaine’s travel party included 22 players, coaches and support staff, 30 band members, 12 cheerleaders and a mascot. The fan count was considerably lower than it might otherwise have been because of the cost of the trip ($1,150-plus).

“We started with a list of probably 150 to 200 people on a list who wanted to come, but unfortunately just couldn’t afford it,” Kix said.

Travel companions

UMaine players Heather Ernest and Kim Corbitt made the trip to Missoula with some extra carry-on luggage.

Corbitt was accompanied by a cuddly stuffed black bear that sported a Columbia blue jersey that had “Corbitt” and her uniform number “22” on the back.

Ernest carried her small stuffed basketball, which is the second such plush toy she has owned.

“I had another one, but it got warn out and had a big hole in it,” Ernest explained. “We have fun with it if we ever get stuck somewhere.”

Ernest also uses it as a pillow on occasion.

During the Bears’ flight, Ernest, while in her seat, playfully bounced the ball off the bulkhead a few times.