SPORTS SECTION E
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 2025
Lady Rebels ready for March Madness By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
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t’s March Madness again and for the fourth consecutive year, Grand Bahamian Yolett McPhee-McCuin will be coaching her University of Mississippi Lady Rebels in the field of 64 collegiate women’s basketball teams in the United States of America. Ole Miss, coming off a quarterfinal appearance in the Southeastern Conference Championships two weeks ago, has been selected as the number five in Region1 - Spokane. They will take on the No.12 Ball State on Friday in the first round of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s 2025 Women’s Basketball
BSAA TRACK AND FIELD RESULTS – SEE PAGE 11
Tournament at the Foster Pavillion in Waco, Texas. At the SEC Championships, McPhee-McCuin said they played the cards they were dealt with, but it’s something that they lost 70-63 to the University of Texas on March 7 in Greenville, South Carolina. “We lost to the number one team in the country at the time, so it still put us in a situation where we get the highest seed we’ve ever received for the NCAA Tournament,” said McPhee-McCuin, who is now in her seventh year as the Lady Rebels’ head coach. “We played in the SEC, the number one conference in the country, but you can only have one champion and when you lose, you go home and we lost. That’s just how it is.” But with that experience behind them, McPheeMcCuin said she has been preparing her Lady Rebels for their fourth-straight run at the prestigious NCAA Tournament, dubbed March Madness. “They are definitely wellrested and have started to get into game form, meaning like we started to ramp up our workouts so we will be ready to go,” she pointed out. “Now, you only have six games remaining so when you lose, you go home. We’re going to try not to lose because we’re not ready to go home just yet.” Ole Miss, who finished their season with a 20-10 win-loss record, will face the MAC Conference champions Ball State, who were 26-7 during their season. But McPhee-McCuin said her Lady Rebels are
THE 2025 Noble Preparatory Academy (NPA) Track & Field Classic was a success for the second consecutive year on Saturday at the original Thomas A Robinson Stadium. A number of athletes from the primary school to senior level put their skills on display at the one-day meet. Event organiser Geno Bullard classified the meet as an overwhelming success. “We feel like the event was an overwhelming success. We had a complete mixture of junior athletes, primary athletes, senior athletes, high school athletes all attending different track clubs, high schools and primary schools. “We had a very wellbalanced event. It was very exciting to see so many youths. For example, we had over 26 young students under-11 and under-10 that
were jumping in the long jump pit,” he said. Coach Bullard said it was also a privilege to honour The Bahamas’ first CARIFTA medallist Peter Pratt over the weekend. “We had a good complement of all different age groups and levels at the meet and once again I feel like it was an overwhelming success. Another highlight of the event is we got to honour one of my personal mentors and friends of over 20 years, Peter Pratt, who is a living legend as far as athletics and his specialty the long jump,” he said. Track Events Samara Cumberbatch, who competed unattached, ran away with the win in the under-17 girls’ 1500m event. She clocked 5:30.95 in the victory. Gianne Nairn, of DTSP WolfPack, came second in 5:53.56 and Mattia Humes got third at 6:39.14. In the boys’ event, Qurai Frith was the lone
COACH TRAVANO MCPHEE: WE ARE UP TO THE CHALLENGE By TENAJH SWEETING Tribune Sports Reporter tsweeting@tribunemedia.net
there next to them every step of the way.” Fellow Bahamian Rhema Collins - a 6-foot, 2-inch forward in her sophomore year - has been injured, but McPheeMcCuin said she’s back and ready to go for the Lady Rebels. “Her injury really set her back, in my opinion,” McPhee-McCuin said. “But she’s back healthy. That’s not holding her back. She just has a couple people ahead of her in playing standpoint. But she will be ready to go if her number is called.” Like she got from their response in watching the
THE Bahamas Aquatics Federation (BAF) selected a 36-member contingent to represent the nation at the 2025 CARIFTA Aquatics Championships in Trinidad & Tobago April 19-23. Team Bahamas is on the quest for their seventh consecutive aquatics title at the junior regional meet and, according to head coach Travano McPhee, the swimmers are up to the challenge. “It feels very exciting. We are up to the challenge. Obviously, we know there is a target on our backs being the defending champions but we are up to the challenge. It is now time to get started as we just picked the team yesterday [Sunday] and will have our first team practice this weekend on Saturday morning and it should be exciting. “We are gonna have a chance to do some teambuilding experiences, get our relays together and just build some team camaraderie,” he said. The Bahamas once again had a dominant showing at the CARIFTA Swimming Championships last year at home. The host team ran away with their sixth straight aquatics championship with a team score of 1,096.50 points. The Cayman Islands finished in the second position at 660 points and Trinidad & Tobago nabbed the third spot with 639 points. Additionally, Team Bahamas accumulated a total of 101 medals which included
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COACH Yolett McPhee-McCuin and her Ole Miss Lady Rebels basketball team celebrate together. not going to let that be a disturbance. “Anyone who gets into this tournament is a contender,” she pointed out. “So, we respect them for sure,” she pointed out. “But we will come out at a high level to compete. “I feel like if we play our game, we should come out with a victory for sure.” And as usual, McPheeMCuin said that’s what is so unique about this time of the year. “Anytime you’re one of the 64 teams to get invited, this is a special time. That’s what I like about March Madness,” she stated. “You don’t know, anything could happen. So I’m excited about us lacing it
up and seeing how far we can go.” Two years ago, McPheeMcCuin said nobody expected anything spectacular from Ole Miss, but they went on to reach the Sweet 16. This year, she said she’s hoping that they can do something even more historic. “I love my team. I think they compete at a high level,” said McPheeMcCuin, of her leading cast that includes Madison Scott, Kennedy Todd-Williams and KK Deans. “They are playing their best basketball now. They understand what’s at stake and so they want to play very well, so I’m looking forward to being right
CRAIG FLOWERS: ‘WE THINK THAT THE PROPERTY IS BEGINNING TO SERVE ITS PURPOSE’
Noble Prep Track & Field Classic ‘an overwhelming success’ By TENAJH SWEETING Tribune Sports Reporter tsweeting@tribunemedia.net
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By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor bstubbs@tribunemedia.net FORMER Bahamas Golf Federation president Craig Flowers said he’s always enthused when they can open up the Driving Range at the Baillou Hills Sports Complex to accommodate the young golf players in the country. Flowers, who established the nine-hole facility to provide an alternative for Bahamians to participate FAST TRACK: Dario Butterfield in action during the Noble Preparatory Academy (NPA) Track and Field Classic on Saturday at the original Thomas A Robinson Stadium. competitor. He ran a time of 5:03.29. Noble Prep’s John Kenel Veronat competed alone in the men’s 1500m open category. He posted a time of 5:40.46. In the 110m hurdles event, Aniyah Musgrove competed solo for Star Trackers in the under-17 girls’ category. She stopped the clock at 17.56 seconds. Simon Sands, who competed unattached, took the win in the boys’ event in 15.24 seconds. Red-Line Athletics’ Kevan Saunders was the only competitor in the under-20 boys’ 110m hurdles event. He crossed the finish line in 15.89 seconds. Roadrunners’ Akaree
Roberts ran 58.23 seconds for first place in the women’s 400m dash open. Malynte Clarke, who competed unattached, trailed for second in 59.54 seconds and third place went to Marquell Newbold in 59.82 seconds. Swift Athletics’ Thanson Orvil cruised to a time of 48.99 seconds in the men’s 400m open event. Alexidieu Sufoir, representing SPIA Track Club, came second overall in 49.49 seconds and third went to Devilus Culmer at 51 seconds. Roadrunners nabbed the victory once again, this time in the under-17 girls’
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in, said their management team was pleased to see the growth of the National High School Golf Championships last week. “When we have twothree and this year it was over 400 kids from a variety of schools participating, it makes us feel very good,” Flowers said. Flowers said it’s expected that the players from Lyford Cay and Windsor Academy School will be
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THE SPORTS March CALENDAR TRACK NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIPS WITH all of the schools having completed their track and field championships, the focus of attention will now switch to the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture’s National High School Track and Field Championships. Under the theme: “Breaking Limits,
Achieving Greatness,” the three-day event is all set to be held from Thursday to Saturday at the original Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium with athletes with special disabilities competing in their own categories along with the various age group competition. The Ministry of Sports in conjunction with the
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