The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

DESPITE the disappointment of not qualifying for the medal round at the Caribbean Basketball Confederation Championships, the Bahamas women’s national team regrouped to finish strong at the tournament.

The Bahamas claimed fifth place with a 104-52 win over Barbados on Saturday in the finale at the multi-purpose complex in Tortola, British Virgin Islands.

Leashia Grant finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds while Jonquel Jones added her third double double of the tournament - 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Shanea Armbrister finished with 19 points and eight rebounds, Debinique Knowles added 15 points and seven rebounds, while Phylicia Kelly chipped in with eight points.

Barbados actually scored the game’s first basket and played the Bahamas evenly for nearly seven minutes in the first period.

Tied at 14, Kelly’s layup gave the Bahamas the lead for good and she scored 10 points in an 11-0 run to conclude the quarter. The Bahamas led 25-14 headed into the second quarter. The lead grew to as much as 20 when Knowles made a jumper to give the Bahamas a 43-23 lead with 4:02 left to play.

They limited Barbados to just 10 points in the quarter as the Bahamas surged ahead with a 17-1 run over the final four minutes to take a 30-point lead at the half, 54-34.

The third quarter produced much of the same as the Bahamas outscored Barbados 24-14.

The lead reached as much as 41 when Grant made a runner at the 3:41 mark and the Bahamas took a 78-38 lead into the fourth.

Tracey Lewis scored the final basket for the Bahamas with just four seconds left to play for the final score in the 49-point romp.

It was the second win for the Bahamas over Barbados in the tournament after an 83-65 win in the final game of the opening round.

The Bahamas finished the tournament with a 4-1 record overall but became a casualty of the FIBA seeding and points system of the opening round.

It was a three pointer for the US Virgin Islands Tanecka Carey that ultimately undid the Bahamas and led the USVI to a nail-biting 56-51 victory.

Trailing by a single point with just under a minute left to play, the Bahamas lost possession and the USVI answered with Carey’s heartbreaking three to take a 53-49 lead.

On one of the Bahamas’ final possessions with 12.8 seconds left on the clock and trailing 55-51, Grant was called for the five-second violation as she failed to inbound the ball in time. Tracy Lewis had a chance to cut into the deficit, but she missed a pair of free throws.

After the game, a disappointed Bahamas head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin had to be restrained after she confronted the referee who made the violation call.

The Bahamas followed with a thrilling overtime victory over the Dominican Republic, 70-69 to keep their medal hopes alive.

Jones had a monster game with 23 points and a tournament high 27 rebounds.

Armbrister had 11 points and 10 rebounds, Grant added 10 points and 13 rebounds while Kelly chipped in with nine points and five assists.

They followed with the 84-59 win over Barbados to finish round one at 2-1 with identical records to the USVI and Dominican Republic.

Armbrister had a big game, scoring 25 points with nine rebounds in 33 minutes to lead two other players in double figures for the Bahamas.

Jones had 32 minutes, had 14 points and a game high 12 rebounds, while Britenique Harrison came off the bench and contributed 10 points and four rebounds in 9:43 minutes.

The Dominican Republic was awarded the top seed in the group by virtue of a +47 point differential and the win over the USVI in the head-to-head matchup.

USVI had a differential of +19 compared to the Bahamas’ +21 however they held the edge in head to head matchup and thus advanced to the semi-final while the Bahamas was placed in the reclassification bracket.

The Bahamas followed with some of the most potent offensive outbursts of the tournament with a pair of 100 point outings, a 113-27 win over Guyana and in the finale against Barbados.

Jones led the Bahamas and finished second in the tournament in the scoring at 17.2 points per game. She led the tournament in rebounding at 14.2 boards per game.

Armbrister finished the tournament fifth in scoring at 15.8 points per game and Grant averaged nine points and nine rebounds per game.

Knowles led the team in steals at 2.2 per game while Sweeting was the team leader in assists at three per game.

Jamaica won the CBC Championship with a 51-45 win over the Dominican Republic.

The USVI won the bronze medal with a 65-52 win over Trinidad and Tobago.

The top three teams qualified for the Women’s CentroBasket to be played in Monterrey, Mexico, July 22-26.