xAble.com NWWBT 2008 Event Page

By Sarah Castle

Champaign, IL - May 2, 2008 - One of the many challenges of being a student-athlete and the tournament director for a national tournament is returning to the roll of the student, when it is all said and done. At the close of the 2008 National Women's Wheelchair Basketball Tournament, I was quickly reminded of the challenges of being a graduate student and the demands placed on my schedule. However, despite this reminder I was more than excited to help the Women's Division and to host the 2008 tournament. This article is my account for the tournament and the events leading up to it.

When the University of Illinois received the bid for the 2008 Women's Wheelchair Basketball Tournament (NWWBT), I had no idea what I was getting myself into as a tournament director. Training for the season is easy by comparison...the plays are easy to call...you wake up every morning, you push, you shoot...it's routine.

Two weeks out from the tournament I was in Japan sending countless emails back and forth to Maureen Gilbert, the tournament director. We were organizing the banquet, the schedules for the tournament and classification, we were ordering trophies and awards...we were trying to finalize everything before the twelve teams competing in the tournament arrived in Champaign.

The tournament began Thursday, February 28, 2008 at 8am...and Wednesday night I was hoping we could postpone until the following week. But at the first sound of the buzzer Thursday morning everything was running smoothly. Games at both IMPE and Huff Hall were running on time and teams were pleased with the schedule and the venues.

As a tournament director I could not have been more pleased. As a senior and a captain of the University of Illinois Women's Team, I was anxious to play...anxious to go for our third title...anxious to play in my last tournament with Illinois.

The University of Illinois opened the tournament against the Denver Lady Rollin' Nuggets, one of the many new teams joining the Women's Division this year. After defeating Denver, we played the RIC Chicago Sky. We struggled offensively, but our defense remained strong and we again were victorious.

At 6:30 pm we met the University of Alabama in the quarter-finals. Rivals by nature, both teams were ready to display their progress from a year of hard work. At the end of forty minutes the University of Illinois had won, 44-37. We were moving on to the Championship Game, on our home court, and none of us could have been more excited.

The University of Alabama played the University of Arizona in the semi-finals on Saturday morning and won, which brought them to the championship game against us at 1:15 pm. Emotions were high. The University of Illinois was fighting for its sixth title in seven years, third in a row, while the University of Alabama was fighting for its first.

As a senior, a captain, a player, I could not have asked for a better championship game. As the University of Alabama drew near with minutes to go, our end game training was key. It became so apparent that what we had learned throughout the year...our panic was minimal because we knew what to do. The University of Alabama had an amazing pass and a great last second shot, that just bounced off the rim just as the buzzer sounded. The University of Illinois won 44-43.

The 2008 National Women's Wheelchair Basketball Tournament ran smoothly and provided twelve teams with an opportunity to participate in elite competition. Both new teams and longstanding teams came together to participate in one of the most competitive national tournaments in which I have had the privilege to participate. I could not have hoped for a better tournament. It would be impossible to individually thank all of the people who contributed to the success of the 2008 NWWBT because it was a collective effort. So as I conclude this recap of one of my favorite competition experiences, I would like to thank the entire Women's Division and the NWBA for granting the University of Illinois the bid and for helping us to host a competitive tournament for women's teams around the country.