Blessed To Document the Greatness & Growth of Women's Basketball

I want to thank God for allowing me to live out my dreams of covering women’s basketball and telling memorable stories about some of the best players on the planet.

There I was for six amazing weeks writing about the CIAA Tournament in Baltimore, the MEAC Tournament in Norfolk, the CAA Tournament in Washington, D.C., the WBIT in Villanova, and the Final Four in Cleveland. I have many miles on my Honda Civic, but what an unforgettable journey of witnessing terrific hoops.

Meeting so many talented student-athletes with whom I enjoyed sharing their stories was a blessing. I am so thankful for their gracious time and their trust in me. Being able to write about South Carolina’s run to the national championship was fun and interviewing many of their players was cool. I know I had to pinch myself while I was at the Final Four, but I also know I earned the chance.

I was a fan who was granted a major opportunity to share my passion by Pat Coleman, Eric Moore, Mel Greenberg, and Howard Medgal to use my storytelling talent, relationship skills, and curiosity to help significantly impact the growth and visibility of women’s basketball. Whether it was covering Division III hoops for d3hoops.com, Division II basketball for the CIAA, and Division I basketball as I helped document Towson University’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament, I was just happy to be writing about women’s basketball.

This past year, I had the blessing of documenting Angel Reese's homecoming to Baltimore when her LSU squad played at Coppin State.

Beginning in 2014 with my first interview and feature on Briann January, I was lucky to experience the excitement and witness the WNBA's explosive growth in the last decade.

Women’s basketball is only getting stronger as evidenced by the record television numbers during the recently completed NCAA Tournament.

Over the last ten years, the WNBA has led the way on several fronts, including players using their voices to bring attention to social justice issues. Seeing many women in the league use their platforms to raise awareness of community concerns and beyond was a treat. They staged media blackouts where they only discussed issues outside of basketball. Witnessing women of different ethnicities and backgrounds unite and make a difference was powerful.

Some of my favorite memories of writing about the WNBA include having the opportunity to cover part of the Phoenix Mercury’s awesome 2014 championship season. They won 29 regular-season games and were probably the best team last decade, with Diana Taurasi, DeWanna Bonner, Candice DuPree, and Penny Taylor leading the way.

Who can forget those epic games between the Phoenix Mercury and Minnesota Lynx in the Western finals as they were fantastic theater. The Lynx was the only professional franchise to win four WNBA championships in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017.

However, two of my biggest highlights were spending close to 30 minutes following a practice with Skylar Diggins in Washington, D.C., a week after she appeared on the ESPY Awards for an in-depth profile that was, in my opinion, one of the best stories I’ve ever written.

Then, participating in a conference call with Becky Hammon after she was hired as a San Antonio Spurs assistant coach, making her the first female to serve in that role, was fun, considering I was parked in a Dunkin Donuts parking lot on my way to cover a Mystics game and wrote notes on an envelope.

Having the chance to speak with Candace Parker and the impact of her daughter on her career was awesome. Watching her win her first championship in a memorable fifth-game epic on the road at Minnesota in 2017 was a thrill. It took 40 minutes of amazingly breathtaking basketball that featured 24 lead changes and 11 ties between the Lynx and Sparks for a determined Parker to add the missing piece to her packed portfolio of milestones, accolades, and highlights.

I also covered the Seattle Storm winning the 2018 championship and being inside a champagne-soaked locker room interviewing Alyssa Clark is a scene I’ll never forget.

My commitment and care for the WNBA allowed me to cover contests at Capital One Arena, Banker’s Life Fieldhouse, Barclays Center, Madison Square Garden, Entertainment & Sports Arena, Mohegan Sun Arena, and UT-Arlington’s College Center to write stories on the likes of Tamika Catchings, Sue Bird, Tina Charles, Bria Hartley, Tayler Hill, Aja Wilson, Swin Cash, Natasha Cloud, Jasmine Thomas, and Maya Moore are memories I’ll always cherish.

They were gracious with their time.

The seeds of future greatness have already been planted with the latest rookie crop highlighted by Caitlin Clark, Rickea Jackson, Angel Reese, Cameron Brink, and Kamilla Cardoso.

Here are some more of my favorite memories:

1. In 2014, I shared a freight elevator at Madison Square Garden with members of the Atlanta Dream. That was a cool moment, although, I didn’t get any photos.
2. I was offered a bowl of banana pudding by Tiana Hawkins postgame following a Mystics game.
3. Spending 20 minutes with Maya Moore outside of the visiting locker room at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. discussing the future of the league following a 2015 story she wrote in the Players Tribune about the lack of visibility of the league. Moore has made a bigger impact on society since that time.
4. Interviewing Tamika Catchings for the first time inside of a locker room at Madison Square Garden in 2014.
5. The opportunity to speak with A’ja Wilson for a magazine cover story in one of her first professional contests in 2018. She shared a story about two kids who are her motivation.
6. Being at Navy in 2014 as several WNBA stars gathered for spots on the USA roster for the world championships. That included running into Briann January and Tina Charles in Starbucks following their practice. That was cool. I did features on Moore, Sue Bird, Bria Hartley, and Dawn Staley.
7. While the headliners were always gracious with their time, it’s the time spent with Betnajah Laney, Maggie Lucas, Delisha Milton-Jones, Sydney Carter, Brianna Kissel, Tayler Hill, Jasmine Thomas, Victoria Vivians, and Kayla McBride for stories that resonate with me the most.

I am thankful that my WNBA hoop dreams became a reality. Excited for the future.