JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Virginia –
Joint Base Langley-Eustis’ women’s basketball team, the Lady Raptors, took home the Military Basketball Association Finals championship trophy, April 14, 2019 in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The Lady Raptors season began back in August with tryouts for the team. The team consisted of women from the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and military dependents.
The tournaments didn’t begin until after a period of conditioning games for the team. From October 2018 – January 2019, the team competed against local colleges and universities to train for the bigger tournament games.
“We had to come up with our own schedule and our own program,” said U.S. Air Force Retired Bruce Smith, Lady Raptors coach. “The men’s team have sponsors and a program in place, these ladies didn’t. They did it all themselves.”
After conditioning for a few months, the tournament games started in January. The final tournament ended with the Lady Raptors taking the win, 86-76. The team they won against was also a semi-pro team from Las Vegas.
According to Smith, the win was even more meaningful considering the team they played are trying to go pro.
“It was good competition,” said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Tiffany Cross, 440th Supply Chain Operations Squadron noncommissioned officer in charge, Training Section. “We had to put in the work. I was excited because we hadn’t taken first place in a tournament all season long.”
Along with winning the tournament, the team also had MBA MVP/Player of the Year, MBA Women’s Coach of the Year and MBA All Tournament Player Award.
“We’re a family, I think we really came together,” said U.S. Army Captain Octavia Blackwell, Delta Company 1-222D Company commander. “So many different personalities, it got to the point prior to the championship game where we knew what everyone brought to the table and we pulled on that.”
The team did have a few obstacles throughout the season. Without sponsors, the team paid for most of their traveling out of pocket. They also were unable to host any home games, giving them a disadvantage for practice.
“No matter what, we are going to go out on the court and we’re going to compete and win,” said Blackwell. “We’re representing JBLE.”
The team hopes to keep defending their title the following year. With hopefully more base support, sponsors and some home games, the Lady Raptors are determined and unafraid of what any other team brings to the table.