SPORTS SECTION E
Track results, PAGES 4 & 5
THURSDAY, MARCH 15, 2018
GYMNASTICS FEDERATION MOURNING LOSS OF THOMPSON GYMNASTICS Federation of Bahamas executives, family and friends are mourning the passing of President Barbara Thompson on March 14, according to a press release. “Our Barefoot President as she was sometimes called was a humble lady with a giving spirit. She was the founder of Gymnastics in the Bahamas, a sport she was very passionate about. “Barbara established the Nassau GymNastics Club after moving to the Bahamas when she was just 20 years old.
“The Gymnastics Federation of the Bahamas was later formed to consolidate the efforts and assist young athletes in this sport. “Over the past four years we were able to participate at international competitions such as the World Gymnastics Championships held in Glasgow, Scotland and the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada. “Barbara’s only wish was to one day see a gymnast from the Bahamas compete at the Olympics. Well we are happy to announce today, that we have a young lady
BARBARA THOMPSON
currently in training for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. The Bahamas Olympic Committee, Women and Sports Commission honoured Barbara during the 40th Anniversary of Independence of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, as a true ambassador for the sport of gymnastics. The Gymnastics Federation of Bahamas extends condolences to the family of the late Barbara Thompson. We honour her legacy and the financial contributions to the sport of gymnastics over the years and we will remain forever grateful.
of our team. It is important for this opportunity that all potential team members get to faceoff with their opponents to see who will run faster, jump higher and throw further. The excitement is building to the extent that we have over 350 athletes who have registered for the trials. Everyone wants that opportunity to be able to represent the Bahamas. The only thing that is left is for the Bahamian public to come out in large numbers to show their support for our athletes.” At CARIFTA, the Bahamas is expected to host 26 countries, 500 athletes, 400 volunteers and some 150 local and international officials for what Carey called “the best edition of the CARIFTA games to date.”
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By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
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SHOWN (l-r) are Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Michael Pintard, BAAA President Rosamunde Carey, Island Luck CFO Dirk Simmons, LOC CFO Natasha Adderley and LOC Co-Chair Tonique Williams. facing our youth today is the loss of inspiration, the loss of hope, the loss of aspiration and the absence of positive role models and positive organised activities like CARIFTA. We are prepared and we are committed to partnering with the BAAAs in future endeavours to ensure that our youth continue to be a promising future for our country.” BAAA President and CEO of Flow CARIFTA Bahamas 2018, Rosamunde Carey, said corporate Bahamas has set the tone for the public to follow. “My mantra has always been and I will reiterate that the success of any event of this magnitude is dependent on the generosity of good corporate citizens. I am pleased to announce that Island Luck, through its IL Cares
foundation, has agreed to assist the CARIFTA committee with a huge financial contribution to underwrite the cost of the BAAAs and with our CARIFTA trials. “In addition to this partnership, they have now become a national supplier to the Flow CARIFTA Track and Field Championships 2018. Once clarity in our vision was received by the managers and executives at Island Luck, they did not hesitate in seeing the value in supporting the positive activities of our youth through this event and other national events that they will be sponsoring,” she said. “The trials are an essential component to the selection process for a coveted spot on Team Bahamas. I can emphatically state that the results from this trial are the most important criteria for the selection
By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net HEAD coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin, sophomore forward Shalonda Neely and their Jacksonville University Dolphins saw their season come to an end in the opening round of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament. The Dolphins were eliminated with a first round loss to the University of Central Florida Knights 65-60 at the CFE Arena in Orlando, Florida, last night. Neely finished with four points and four rebounds. The Knights advanced to play the winner of the Alabama-Southern game in the second round, to be hosted March 17-20. The Dolphins got off to a slow start and scored just eight points in the first quarter. Neely was a key contributor off the bench and scored four points in the second as JU outscored UCF 13-5 in the period. The Dolphins took a 21-16 lead at the half. UCF had a turnaround in the third quarter and outscored JU 18-14, but the Dolphins sill took a 35-34 lead into the fourth. Tied at 38 with 6:36 left to play in regulation, the Knights went ahead by five, but the Dolphins trimmed the lead to just one with 1:04 left. The Knights were up three with eight seconds left when the Dolphins forced overtime when Jasmyn Brown made a three to beat the buzzer. The Knights led by as much as five in overtime. For the second consecutive season, the Jaguars came up just short in a bid for the NCAA Tournament but earned a berth to the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). The tournament field consists of 32 automatic invitations – one from each conference – and 32 atlarge teams. As a runner-up in the league tournament, Florida Gulf Coast received the ASUN’s automatic qualifier.
Island Luck sponsors CARIFTA he final opportunity for aspiring athletes to qualify for the 2018 Flow CARIFTA Track and Field Championships will take place this weekend and a new corporate partner came on board to sponsor the trials and next month’s main event. The BAAAs/Island Luck CARIFTA Trials will be hosted Friday and Saturday at the Thomas A Robinson as the organisation prepares to ratify the roster for the meet which is now approximately two weeks away. Under the theme “Faster Further, Higher”, the North America, Central America and Caribbean Athletics Associations (NACAC) will stage the 47th edition of the meet March 30 to April 2 in honour of the late Dr Bernard Nottage. The IL Cares Foundation presented the CARIFTA Local Organising Committee with a $50,000 cheque for both events. Island Luck CFO, Dirk Simmons, said the decision to sponsor the trials and support the LOC as a national supplier was in line with his organisation’s effort to inspire the youth of the country. “We are happy to support the BAAAs and partner with you in both the trials and the CARIFTA Track and Field Championships. It is said quite often that our youth are our future and for many years, CARIFTA has embodied inspiration and aspiration necessary to keep our youth engaged in activities that will help them realise, not only their full potential, but also realise their dreams of a better future for both themselves and for the Bahamas,” he said. “Today our country is at somewhat of a crossroads and we at the IL Cares foundation believe that one of the greatest challenges
MCPHEEMCCUIN AND DOLPHINS ELIMINATED IN 1ST ROUND
Lashann and Longhorns advance to NCAA Tournament By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net FOR the third consecutive year, Lashann Higgs saw her programme advance to the Women’s NCAA Tournament following the
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“Selection Monday” process for the field of 64. Higgs and the nationally ranked No.8 Texas Longhorns were named the No. 2 seed in the Kansas City Region and will face the No. 15 Maine Black Bears. The Longhorns will have the good fortune of hosting the first two rounds at home at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas and begin tournament play at 6pm Saturday. The second-seeded Longhorns will be joined in Austin by seventh-seeded Arizona State, 10th-seeded Nebraska and Maine. The Longhorns finished the season 26-6, concluded by a 93-87 loss to the No.2 ranked Baylor Bears in the Big 12 Tournament final. Higgs finished with six points and three rebounds. As a junior this season, Higgs has stepped into a leadership
role and started all 27 As a freshman, she appearances. She averaveraged 7.2 points, 2.9 aged 12.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.4 steals assists and 3.2 rebounds per game in 13.2 min- all career highs. She utes. She established an also had the best shootimportant role in the ing season of her career rotation for the Longat 54 per cent from the horns highlighted by a field, 33 per cent from season high 16 points the three-point line and over then second ranked HIGGS 74 per cent from the free Baylor. throw line. In her freshman Last year as a sophomore, season the Huskies ended the Higgs averaged eight points, three tournament run for the Longrebounds, 1.5 assists and one steal horns after they routed them by in just over 17 minutes per game. 50 in the 2015 Sweet 16. In that season, the Longhorns Texas is making its 31st allfinished 31-5 and earned an time appearance in the NCAA NCAA Elite Eight appearance. Tournament, which ranks fourth Higgs finished the final game of among all NCAA Division I protheir season with a career high grammes. The Longhorns hold 19 points in the Longhorns’ 86-65 an all-time NCAA Tournament loss to the eventual champion record of 40-29 (.580). UT is hostUConn Huskies in the Bridgeport ing the NCAA First and Second Regional Semi-final. Rounds for the third consecutive
year and eighth time since 1997. Texas is 23-9 (.719) all-time in NCAA Tournament games played at home. Texas is a No. 2 seed for the sixth time in programme history and holds a record of 13-5 (.722) all-time when competing in the NCAA Tournament as a No. 2 seed. The Longhorns have made five consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances under head coach Karen Aston, including three consecutive NCAA Sweet 16 showings for the first time in more than a decade. Texas has posted its fifth consecutive 20-win season and has a 26-6 record overall. The Longhorns tied the school record for most Big 12 Conference wins in a single season with 15, finishing second in league play for the third consecutive season.