TURNS OUT Jamila Studer is in the team after all.
Sade Clarke is another story altogether.
Barbados’ best ball-handler won’t be part of the big rebuilding project, as Clarke was unexpectedly left off the women’s national basketball team, while Studer is making the Tortola trip after her recent pregnancy.
They proved the biggest storylines coming out of the release of the final 12-player roster heading into next month’s Caribbean Basketball Confederation Championships.
Clarke’s exclusion was the more stunning of the two as the seasoned 25-year-old guard had appeared in every national outfit since 2007.
“We had certain criteria for everyone and let’s say she failed one of the criteria while the others passed,” explained first-time head coach Terry Inniss.
Her omission also seems that much more surprising after seasoned forwards Wanda Agard-Belgrave, Astrid Alleyne, Jennifer Joseph-Hackett and Irecka Louis all made themselves unavailable for an inexperienced unit that will now feature seven first-timers.
However, Inniss doesn’t appear worried despite going forward with a pair of rookie point guards in Tamisha Flatts and schoolgirl Ashlee Daniel.
“I am not really concerned because the way we play we don’t need a traditional point guard as anyone can bring the ball out of backcourt with the team we have,” said Inniss.
“And the way we are gearing our practice they will be accustomed to playing under pressure, then we still have Toni [Atherley] on the team if push comes to shove so ball-handling won’t be an issue.”
Frontcourt scoring may no longer be an issue either, with the European-based Studer just awaiting clearance from her doctor next week before expecting to travel with the side despite delivering her first child just a month ago.
And the young side should get a further boost from the addition of prolific Canadian-born forward Dale-Marie Cumberbatch, who will be making her first appearance in blue and gold after becoming the all-time career scoring leader in history of Canadian college ball.
Along with Flatts and Daniel, utility player Tiffany Thorpe, Makela Walcott and Bowen twin sisters Winmalecia and Winmarie will all be making their national debuts.
?Squad: Toni Atherley, Winmalecia Bowen, Winmarie Bowen, Maria Cumberbatch, Ashlee Daniel, Tamisha Flatts, Ruth Gill, Tiffany Thorpe, Makela Walcott, Ria Phillips, Dale-Marie Cumberbatch, Jamila Studer, Terry Inniss (head coach), Ianthum Alleyne (assistant).
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