All-Army women’s basketball team brings home the gold

ARNEWS

WASHINGTON — April Cromartie-Golden led the women’s All-Army basketball team with 17 points and eight rebounds to a 56-53 victory over Navy in the 2010 Armed Forces Basketball Championships Aug. 22 at Fort Myer, Va.

The All-Army women withstood the best shots from their sister services during a week-long tournament in which they played six games in seven days.

Dionne Brown made a 15-foot jumper Sunday for a 54-53 lead with 17.9 seconds remaining and added two free throws with 3.2 seconds left to secure the gold medal. Brown was 0-for-9 from the field before hitting the game-winner.

“I couldn’t hit a shot,” said Brown, a 28-year-old medic at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu. “But you know what my dad always said — It’s not how many you make, it’s when you make it.’”

Having played four seasons at Texas Tech and Baylor University and another with the Seattle Storm in the Women’s National Basketball Association, Brown knows a thing or two about clutch shots.

“That shot right there is worth every 20-point game I’ve ever had in my life,” she said. “There was a big pick set by Newton and I just came off and did the best I could and put it in.”

The Army team opened Monday with a 72-61 loss to All-Navy and dropped a 68-66 decision to All-Air Force on Wednesday. The teams settled into a double-elimination format Thursday with All-Army seeded third.

“We weren’t really too worried about the first three days,” All-Army coach Tony Reed said. “We’re probably the only team that started everybody and let everybody play,” he said. “Come Thursday, we went with a seven-man rotation all the way through,” he said.

Reed’s players bought into the approach, which paid dividends in their third meeting of the week with All-Navy.

“That was an eye-opener on Monday,” said Aquanita Burras of Yongsan, Korea. “Wednesday also was an eye-opener. We knew in those first three games where we were and where we needed to be coming into Thursday’s game, and we brought it.”

Tomorro Newton of Fort Bragg, converted a three-point play that got All-Army within 52-50 with 1:47 left, and Brown made a pair of free throws to seal the victory.

The game was telecast live worldwide on the Pentagon Channel.

“It meant a lot to bring back the gold, especially for one of the players that has been playing All-Army since 2000,” Burras said in reference to teammate Evevetta Crawford, who missed the last two Armed Forces tournaments while attending school. “Actually seeing her with tears in her eyes was one of those moments. We brought it back. Go Army!”

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