SPORTS SECTION E
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016
SNIPE SAILING
World Masters, Page 13
Matthew destruction forces Junkanoo Jam to relocate By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
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ue to the damage inflicted by Hurricane Matthew, the internationally renowned Junkanoo Jam basketball tournament was forced to relocate. Traditionally hosted in Grand Bahama, Basketball Travelers and tournament organisers announced this week that the 2016 event is now scheduled to take place at the Gateway Christian Academy Gym in Bimini November 24-26. All teams and supporters that purchased tournament packages through Junkanoo Jam and Basketball Travelers, will be automatically assigned rooms at the brand
new Hilton at Resorts World Bimini. The relocation effort began once the damage to the Grand Lucayan Resort was assessed following the passage of Hurricane Matthew through Grand Bahama. “Obviously we are disappointed that the tournament had to be moved from Grand Bahama Island, but we are grateful to our friends in the Bahamas, who have been extremely helpful in relocating the tournament,” said Neal Holden, tournament director and BTI president. “Our first priority is always to the safety and well-being of our teams, fans and stakeholders. We are keeping the Bahamian people in our prayers as they recover from this natural disaster and hope we can still provide travellers with an
unforgettable experience, while showing off the beauty of the Bahamas.” The Junkanoo Jam will again feature some of the top NCAA Division I women’s basketball programmes and will also showcase an appearance by a Bahamian player. Event organisers officially released the eight-team field for the 14th edition of the event hosted over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. The field includes Bahamian Shanea Armbrister and her Georgia Bulldogs, the Creighton Bluejays, Dayton Flyers, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Minnesota Golden Gophers, Missouri Tigers, South Florida Bulls and North Carolina Tar Heels. As a transfer after a storied
junior college career, Armbrister played in 21 games last season for the Bulldogs. After battling through a torn meniscus in the early part of the year, the 6ft 2in wing player hit 45 per cent from three-point range, the best average on the team for players with 10 or more attempts. Over the season she averaged 2.2 points and one rebound per game. 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. Local favourite Jonquel Jones, now with the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun, returned to Grand Bahama at the 2014 Junkanoo Jam. Jones delivered an MVP perfor-
mance and led her George Washington Colonials to the Freeport Division title at the St George’s Gymnasium. The junior forward posted a double double in the title game 14 points, all in the second half, and 14 rebounds - in the 79-59 win over the Purdue Boilermakers. The tournament traditionally boasts a talented group of teams which range among some of the best in the NCAA. The 2015 field included the Baylor Bears, Boston College Eagles, Cincinnati Bearcats, University of Denver Pioneers, Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, Michigan State Spartans, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Oklahoma Sooners, UCLA Bruins and Utah Utes. Six of those teams advanced to the NCAA tournament.
Champions By DAVE CAMPBELL AP Sports Writer
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Nneka Ogwumike’s short jumper with 3.1 seconds left gave the Los Angeles Sparks a 77-76 victory over the defending champion Minnesota Lynx for their first title in 14 years in the deciding game of the WNBA Finals last night. The league MVP joined her teammates in celebration as a stunned crowd slowly filed out after finishing with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Candace Parker had 28 points and 12 rebounds to earn MVP honours of the Finals. It was Parker’s first WNBA title. Rebekkah Brunson made one of two free throws with 23 seconds left to give the Lynx a 7473 lead. Parker answered with a layup on the other end that Maya Moore countered with a jumper with 15 seconds remaining. Ogwumike’s first try for the win was off the mark, but she worked her way over to the loose ball for another attempt that she coolly swished. Lindsay Wahlen’s final shot from just inside halfcourt wasn’t close, setting off Los Angeles’ celebration. Moore had 23 points and 11 assists for the Lynx, who fell short of matching the WNBA record of four championships. The Houston Comets won four straight titles from 1997-2000. The Lynx played in the finals for the fifth time in the last six years. They won three. Parker finally had help with the scoring when reserve Chelsea Gray reeled off 11 consecutive points for the Sparks. Gray capped that run with a smooth up-and-under layup to put them in front 60-59 early in the fourth quarter. Parker’s putback with 3:06 left gave LA a 71-63 lead, putting the Lynx in trouble. But Moore seized the moment with a 3-pointer that brought Minnesota within four points,
Los Angeles earns 1st WNBA title in 14 years
SPARKS’ ALANA BEARD, left, and Chelsea Gray celebrate after the Sparks beat the Minnesota Lynx 77-76 to win the WNBA basketball finals last night in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jim Mone) and Parker forced an off-balance 3 on the other end. Lindsay Whalen stole the ball from Kristi Toliver and finished the fast break with a layup to tie the game at 71, setting up the final flurry. On the next play, Ogwumike hit a jumper that appeared to come after the shot clock expired. The officials signalled for a review, but never looked at the basket and Los Angeles led 7371 with just over a minute left. The WNBA’s new postseason format with the field ordered by overall record regardless of con-
ference sure worked well, leading to this classic matchup between the two teams that fought all summer for the top seed and featuring several of the league’s biggest stars. The game was remarkably close, with 11 lead changes and six ties in the first half alone. Moore gave Minnesota its biggest lead of the first 20 minutes with a pair of free throws in the closing seconds of the second quarter to make it 34-28. The Sparks had an opportunity for a surge when Sylvia Fowles exited with an injury to
her right hand, scoring on a fast break while Fowles was wincing in pain by the bench and out of the play and then picking up a bonus point on a free throw for Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve’s technical foul. Augustus and Renee Montgomery knocked down 3-pointers from the top of the key down the stretch of the third quarter, though, and Fowles soon reentered the game. She made her presence felt with a powerful take to the rim for a layup and a 53-47 lead. With the area schools out for
fall conferences and the Lynx with the chance to repeat as champions for the first time, the crowd at Target Center was predictably packed to the rafters and bouncing to the blaring hip-hop beats well before tipoff. The sea of green T-shirts displaying the team slogan “Roar,” donned by roughly 90 per cent of the fans, produced a deafening soundtrack from start to finish befitting a game for the trophy. Even Magic Johnson was there, wearing all black while sitting courtside to root for the Sparks team he’s a part-owner of and spoke to after the loss at home in Game 4 on Sunday. His presence was all the more impressive considering the Dodgers, the other pro club he’s invested in, were playing baseball in Los Angeles at the same time in Game 5 of their National League championship series. The Lynx had celebrity backing, too, with Timberwolves players including Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Ricky Rubio, Cole Aldrich and Nemanja Belica in the seats to support the women they share an arena with. FOUL TROUBLE Ogwumike joined Toliver and Essence Carson with three fouls in the first half and played less than 4 minutes in the second quarter. UNDER CONSTRUCTION If the finals return to Minnesota next year, Lynx could have yet another place in which to try to pop the corks with a major renovation set for Target Center next summer. They’ll play across the Mississippi River in St Paul at Xcel Energy Center, the hockey home of the Minnesota Wild.
BAHAMAS’ TOP JUNIOR GOLFERS TURNQUEST, ANAND IN ANNIKA INVITATIONAL By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net TWO of the Bahamas’ elite junior golfers are participating in a top regional tournament aimed at developing the game among young ladies. Haylie Turnquest and Sophie Anand are representing the Bahamas at the ANNIKA Invitational, Latin America, hosted at the Hurlingham Club in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Turnquest finished day one tied at No.19 in the field with an opening round of 80, +9 over par. Anand is ranked at No.49 after an opening +22 over par, 93. Local Argentinian Elabelen Anacona leads the field as the only golfer under par at -2, 69. The event is co-hosted by Anni-
ka Sorenstam’s ANNIKA Foundation and Asociacion Argentina de Golf (AAG). It is also sponsored by The R&A. The event is designed to be the premier event for junior girls (ages 12-16) in Latin America and the Caribbean. Both golfers continue a stellar 16 season which also saw them represent the Bahamas at the Caribbean Amateur Junior Golf Championships among other events. Over the years, Turnquest has had multiple wins as well as player of the year awards throughout South Florida. She finished first in the Girls 14-15 Bahamas Junior National Championships. She lists that one of her immediate career goals is to the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires. Anand, after just two years in
HAYLIE TURNQUEST
the sport, has achieved national team recognition and is the reigning junior girls club champion at Albany Golf Club. She was also a part of this year’s winning proamateur team at the LPGA Bahamas Pure Silk Classic. She recently finished in second place at her latest tournament on the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour, earned runner-up honours in the Girls’ Under 13 HJGC’s Tampa Bay Junior Challenge and at the BGF’s National Junior Championships. Sixty of the region’s leading players, representing 20 countries, are competing at the ANNIKA Invitational for World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) points, with the winner receiving an exemption into the 2017 South American Amateur Championship in Lima, Peru.
In addition, the top three finishers will earn an invitation to the 2017 ANNIKA Invitational USA in Orlando, Florida. “I’m honoured to partner with The R&A to bring a world-class junior golf event to Latin America,” says Annika, who began her ANNIKA Foundation upon stepping away from the LPGA in 2008. “With golf’s incredible showing at the Olympic Games earlier this year in Brazil, the time is right to bring an ANNIKA Invitational to this part of the world.” Sorenstam will be intimately involved and onsite for the championship. Some scheduled activities are a clinic for competitors during which she’ll share her “Winning Approach” philosophy, a gala dinner and an awards presentation.