The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

WHILE they wait to see who their opponent will be, interim head coach Wayde Watson said the Bahamas women's basketball team will be prepared for whoever they face in the FIBA Caribbean Women’s Cup crossover playoffs today in Paramaribo, Suriname.

Team Bahamas qualified as the number two seed out of Group A after losing by 27 to Cuba in their first game on Monday at the Anthony Nesty Sporthal before coming back and winning by 25 over St Vincent and the Grenadines on Tuesday.

Cuba clinched the top spot after going undefeated, blasting St Vincent and the Grenadines 108-32 in the last game of their group play on Wednesday as the Bahamas watched during an off day.

"We were a lot more upbeat after beating St Vincent and the Grenadines," said Watson after their 75-50 triumph. "But I told them it's not something that we should use as a benchmark, but to be thankful for the win.

"We have to remember that we still have a lot more to accomplished as far as our goals are concerned in this tournament. But I think after we got through our pool, we feel we should be okay against whoever we meet in the playoffs."

Tougher

Despite only having three teams in their grouping, Watson said he feels it was tougher than Group B, which comprised of the Dominican Republic, Suriname, Barbados and Guyana.

"We just have to turn it up a notch. If we are prepared to do so, we can go to the gold medal round," said Watson of Thursday's finale, which will determine which two teams will advance to the Centro Basket, scheduled for August 20-24 in Puerto Rico.

At the end of their round robin play, Valerie Nesbitt leads the way offensively with a total of 31 points, five assists and four steals in 60 minutes on the court.

Brea Forbes, in 47, minutes, has scored 23 points with eight rebounds, five steals and three assists. Tracy Lewis, in 35 minutes, has scored 15 points with nine rebounds, three assists and three steals, while Shalonda Neely, in 34 minutes has 13 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two block shots.

Britenique Harrison has played 42 minutes and contributed 12 points, 11 rebounds, six blocks, two assists and a steal and Pamela Bethel, in 30 minutes, has 12 points on her ledger with eight rebounds.

Watson, who is being assisted by Varel Davis and Anton Francis, said they made a slight adjustment in the starting line-up from game one and they still got off to a slow start.

But he admitted that after a practice on their off-day on Tuesday, he had a heart-to-heart team meeting and emphasised to the players the need for them to "leave everything on the line".

"I'm hoping that they can develop a sense of urgency as we go into the crossover game and that we can get into the gold medal round. We could possibly end up playing the Dominican Republic, who seemed to be the top team coming out of their pool.

"Even though they are ranked much higher than us, I believe that we have the team to do it. It's just a matter of getting the players to believe in themselves and in the system that have been trying to develop over the past few weeks."

There is a possibility that the coaching staff will make another adjustment in their starting line-up, but Watson said it will depend on who they end up playing. If it's the Dominican Republic, he said they will look at adjusting their team around Harrison, who is the tallest player on Team Bahamas.

"I told them that they can do it," said Watson, about winning the gold. "I honestly believe that they can do it. They just have to go out there and execute. I just hope that something that was said by the coaches will resonate in their head and they will go out and leave it all on the court."