The under-17 girls' basketball team got off to a rough start at the Centrobasket tournament currently going on in San Salvador, El Salvador.
Playing in their first game of the tournament, against the host country, The Bahamas fell 64-86 on Wednesday evening. The junior national team took to the court late yesterday evening, facing off with Mexico, the top seeded team in Group B. No result was available up to press time for the game.
It was reported and confirmed by Vice President of the Bahamas Basketball Federation (BBF) Mario Bowleg, that the team committed many turnovers which resulted in easy baskets for El Salvador. The overall statistics have The Bahamas committing more than 30 turnovers to El Salvador's 19. Bowleg said he spoke to Simone Beneby, who is at the tournament serving as the head of the delegation, shortly after the game on Wednesday evening. Beneby revealed that jitters and nerves also played a factor in the game.
"I usually get an update on how things are going with the team and one of the first things that Simone said was that the girls were nervous," Bowleg stated. "She also said that they were making too many turnovers which resulted in easy baskets for El Salvador. When you are playing countries like El Salvador and Mexico, you cannot commit that amount of turnovers, expecting them not to score.
"It is obvious that the teams around the region are taking the necessary steps needed to compete on a high level. They are improving and so we need to improve and take advantage of every opportunity that we have. I am confident that they can get out of the pool. The U.S. Virgin Islands appears to be the weakest team in the pool so we will need to win against them."
The Bahamas is in Group B with Mexico, El Salvador and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Playing in Group A are Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Honduras and Dominican Republic.
The top scorer for The Bahamas in Wednesday's game was LaShae Rolle who netted 14 points. Shalonda Neely and Valerie Nesbitt both scored 13 points, and Isis Wilson chipped in with 11 points. Hillary Martinez Argueta scored the game high of 22 points. Her teammate Ana Iglesias Cabrera scored 22 points.
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