”The woman power of this nation can be the power which makes us whole and heals the rotten community.” – Coretta Scott King.
This past Monday, on Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the inaugural Coretta Scott King Classic women’s basketball doubleheader took place at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Thousands braved the cold and snow-covered pavement to see four top-25 teams, including three of the top eight, battle on the court on a day that honored a man known for his fight for civil and human rights, and in an event named to honor the legacy of Mrs. King and celebrate female empowerment in sports.
Dr. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee at the age of 39. Coretta Scott King died on January 30, 2006 in the rehabilitation center at Oasis Hospital in Mexico where she was undergoing holistic treatment for a stroke and ovarian cancer.
In the opener, 6’ 7” junior center Lauren Betts flirted with a triple-double as she dominated on both ends of the floor, scoring 24 points, blocking a school-record nine shots, and pulling down nine rebounds as the No. 1-ranked UCLA Bruins remained undefeated, taking down the gritty unranked Baylor Bears 72-57. The Bruins led the Bears 17-2 in the first quarter, but Baylor climbed back to cut the lead to five twice but didn’t get closer.
Junior Gabriela Jaquez, the younger sister of Miami Heat guard and former UCLA standout Jaime Jaquez Jr., notched a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Junior guard Darianna Littlepage-Buggs grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds and scored eight points for Baylor, while senior guard Yaya Felder from Hartford, CT, scored a team-high 10 points off the bench.
In the second game, the No. 7 Texas Longhorns handily defeated the No. 8 Maryland Terrapins team 89-5l. Maryland lost junior guard and third-leading scorer Bri McDaniel for the season last week to an ACL injury. The Terps also were without senior guard Shyanne Sellers, the team’s second-leading scorer, for the second half as she sustained a knee injury just before halftime. The Longhorn defense held the Terrapins to 12 points in the first quarter, taking a commanding 28-12 lead, and limited Maryland to six points in the second quarter to take a 48-18 lead after 20 minutes of play.
Sophomore forward Madison Booker led the Longhorns with 28 points on an efficient 13-19 from the field, while senior forward Taylor Jones scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Junior guard Kaylene Smikle, hailing from Bay Shore, New York, was the only Maryland player in double figures, as she scored 15 points.
But the inaugural Coretta Scott King Classic was about much more than basketball. It may have best been expressed by Texas Longhorns head coach Vic Schaefer, who talked about the bravery of both Rev. Dr. King and Coretta Scott King.
“I try to impart on these kids all the time about what makes a great leader and it’s somebody that’s a servant leader that is always thinking about something, someone else other than themself,” he said.
“This event is named after his wife, so I want y’all to think for a minute. We all know the bravery that he went through and the things that he had to deal with as he did what he did, but think about his wife. This event was named after Coretta, and think about her bravery every day, knowing that when he walked out the door, knowing what he was trying to get done in the world at a time when the world was fighting it. Think about her bravery. Think about her toughness.”
