The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THE New Providence Women's Basketball Association didn't have a full season like they normally do, nor did they have a full complement of teams participating.

But league president Mynez Sherman should be commended along with her executives for pulling off a very competitive abbreviated season that ended with the Bommer G Lady Operators emerging as the champions.

In their best-of-five series, the Lady Operators swept aside the Lady Cheetahs in three straight games with a clinching 80-73 decision in the deciding game three on Tuesday night at the DW Davis Gymnasium.

Chrishandra Rahming led a balanced scoring attack with 23 points, Britinique Harrison had 17 and Antique Young chipped in with 11 for the Lady Operators, coached by Donnie Culmer, assisted by Anthony Swaby.

Shantel Rolle had 23 points in a losing effort.

The only problem is that with the season complete, the NPWBA champions will not have a chance to play for the national title again as the Bahamas Basketball Federation's National Championships was completed last month without any participation from the ladies.

Now the federation is preparing to select a team to represent the country at the Caribbean Basketball Championships in Suriname next month. The federation has already selected Wayde Watson, a former coach in the NPWBA, as the head coach and Varel Davis, a former player/coach, as his assistant. They will handle the coaching chores in the absence of women's head coach Yolett McPhee-Cuin, who will not be available because of her new role as the head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels women's basketball team.

With Jonquel Jones unavailable as well as she's back for another season with the Connecticut Sun and former WNBA pacesetter Waltiea Rolle returning to school to complete her education, it seems as if the federation will have to rely solely on the players in the NPWBA.

It may have been a good gesture by the federation to provide the trip for the NPWBA to select an all-star team to formulate the nucleus of the team and invite the others to make up the squad.

For her role as the president of the league, Sherman should be given the nod to travel as the manager.

She has done a tremendous job in keeping the women's basketball programme alive where there were no other leagues going on.

The women's league, headed by Sherman, must be commended for keeping the sport alive. Not only have they allowed the players to compete, but they have also provided a feeder system with their junior programme.

Not taking anything away from Watson and Davis, but there should be a collaboration with the coaches in the NPWBA to help put together what should be the best talent available in the country right now.

Without a national championship to fall back on, the federation didn't have the opportunity to view players from any other island.

So the NPWBA, as the only league in operation this year, should play a vital role in the selection of the team.

Let's give the NPWBA the credit they deserve. Without them, the federation would not have had any players in any type of playing condition to get ready to travel in such a short space of time.