The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

The Junkanoo Jam traditionally features some of the top NCAA Division I women’s basketball programmes visiting the Bahamas during the Thanksgiving holiday and that trend looks to continue in 2017 as the new field was announced.

This edition, hosted November 23-25 and for the second year at Hilton Resort’s World Bimini, will feature the Baylor Bears, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Iowa State Cyclones, Pennsylvania Quakers, San Diego State Aztecs, Tulane Greene Wave, Central Michigan Chippewas and Missouri State Bears.

The tournament features two four-team divisions in a two-game bracket competing for separate tournament championships.

Missouri State, Baylor, Penn and Georgia Tech will compete in the Junkanoo Division while Tulane, Iowa State, San Diego State and Central Michigan comprise the Bimini division.

Missouri State and Baylor will tip off the tournament on Thursday, November 23, Penn and Georgia Tech will play their first game on Friday, November 24. The losing teams will compete in the third-place game on Saturday, November 25 at 1 pm, followed by the championship game at 3:15 pm.

Tulane will square off with Iowa State in the opening round on November 24. The winner of that game will play the winner of San Diego State vs. Central Michigan for the tournament divisional crown at 7 pm. on November 25. The third place contest will commence earlier on that Saturday at 4:45 pm.

The Junkanoo Jam was a staple of the Grand Bahama sporting calendar for 13 editions. Due to the damage inflicted by Hurricane Matthew, the tournament was forced to relocate to the Gateway Christian Academy Gym in Bimini.

Since the inception of the Junkanoo Jam in 2002, many of the nation’s top women’s programmes have converged on Grand Bahama to test their skills in meaningful regular season competition.

Bahamian players have been featured in the last two editions.

Local favourite Jonquel Jones, now with the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun, returned to Grand Bahama at the 2014 Junkanoo Jam.

Jones delivered an MVP performance and led her George Washington Colonials to the Freeport Division title at the St George’s Gymnasium.

In 2015, Shanea Armbrister was featured with her Georgia Bulldogs as they competed in the eight team field.