WASHINGTON – The trip to the Bahamas to compete in the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis extravaganza is bigger than basketball for the Howard women's hoops program.
Regarded as one of the most challenging early-season college basketball events, Howard is the first Historically Black College and University (HBCU) to participate in this elite tournament. Joining Howard will be Arizona, DePaul, Michigan, Middle Tennessee State, Ole Miss, South Dakota, and Memphis.
"We are honored to be invited as the first HBCU to participate in this tournament," Howard women's basketball head coach Ty Grace said. "I look forward to competing and bringing positive exposure to the program and University. I wasn't aware of the selection process initially, but (Howard's director of athletics Kery Davis) informed me that we were invited and asked my thoughts. I was familiar with the Battle 4 Atlantis because of its notoriety in women's basketball and the teams that participated in the past."
Experiences like this that combine sports with education are excellent. It's an opportunity for Howard's student-athletes to challenge themselves against quality and nationally ranked competition, continue bonding as a team, make a societal impact, engage with the local community, and enjoy the sun-splashed beaches underneath azure skies.
The Bison left campus at 4:30 a.m. for its 7 a.m. flight on Thursday — a small price to pay for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"I'm super excited about this trip," said 5-foot, 10-inch senior guard Kaniyah Harris. "I came into college during the height of the pandemic, so I remember when we were playing teams back-to-back, barely staying in one city. Now we're staying in another country for a week, so it's a full circle moment. Aside from winning, I'm looking forward to really building team chemistry. I feel like we already have a good foundation, and going on trips like this can do nothing but help us grow. Teams with great chemistry tend to want to fight harder for one another, which will help us in the long run in March."
Howard starts with an immediate test against 23rd-ranked Ole Miss on Saturday, Nov. 18, at noon Eastern Time at Imperial Arena in Atlantis Paradise Island. Howard will also play on Sunday and Monday. The entire tournament can be streamed live on FloSports.
The other opening-round matchups feature Arizona against Memphis at 2:30 p.m., followed by Michigan taking on Middle Tennessee State at 5 p.m., and ending with DePaul battling South Dakota at 7:30 p.m.
"My goal is to have my team enjoy this experience," Grace said. "The Bahamas is a beautiful country. One of the luxuries of playing college basketball is being able to travel often. I also want them to embrace this stage of playing against some of the best schools in the country. Lastly, I want us to grow as a team and improve with each game, no matter the outcome. It's a long season, and I think these games will help with our run in March."
This season, the Bison are off to a 1-3 start as it continues adjusting to life without Preseason MEAC Player of the Year Destiny Howell. Howard has used a 10-man rotation through its four games. Tyana Walker leads the Bison with a 14.0 point-per-game average. Iyanna Warren chips in with 10.0 points per outing.
The Howard triumvirate of Vanessa Blake, Nile Miller, and Harris average 6.0 rebounds per game each to lead the Bison. Blake, who opened the season with a 13-point effort against George Washington, scores 9.0 points per game clip. Miller averages 7.3 points per game.
While winning matters to the Bison, this trip is another positive step forward for the Howard basketball program. Playing hoops in another country is always fantastic.
The Bahamas is an ecological oasis sprinkled over 100,000 square miles of ocean, starting just 50 miles off the coast of Florida. It comprises of 700 breathtaking islands, over 2,000 rocks and cays, and boasts the clearest water on the planet—with a visibility of over 200 feet.
"In 2023, it's crazy even still to hear that we're having the first HBCU conversation, but I'm blessed and grateful to be a part of history," Harris said. "Howard has always been a front-runner in representation, and I'm glad I can experience this with my team and make lifelong memories while competing in the sport that we all love."
Rob Knox is an award-winning professional. A member of the Lincoln (Pa.) Athletics Hall of Fame, Knox currently serves as the Senior Director of Strategic Communications for the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. Knox enjoyed a distinguished career as an athletics communicator for Lincoln, Kutztown, Coppin State, Towson, and UNC Greensboro. He also worked at ESPN and for the Delaware County Daily Times. Recently, Knox was honored by College Sports Communicators (CSC) with the Mary Jo Haverbeck Trailblazer Award and the NCAA with its Champion of Diversity award. Knox is a graduate of Lincoln University and a past president of the College Sports Information Directors Association of America (CoSIDA).
