FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Fort Myers community is rallying behind women's basketball as the Elevance Health Women's Fort Myers Tip-Off brings elite college teams to Southwest Florida.
Watch Fort Myers Community Correspondent Miyoshi Price's report:
The tournament features eight powerhouse teams competing across two divisions, with organizers working to build the same excitement that has made the men's tournament a nationally televised success.
"We love being here Fort Myers. Tip-off is a fabulous event. when we started the men's side, we started modestly. Now it is a breakaway hit. We are going to do the exact same thing in the women's side," said Charlie Besser, CEO of Intersport, the tournament's organizing company.
The tournament showcases undefeated Georgia Lady Bulldogs and Kansas.
Lee County has partnered with Intersport for eight years on the men's tournament and watched it grow into a Fox Television broadcast. Officials want to replicate that success with women's basketball.
For Sabratha Thomas, a mother from New Jersey who traveled to watch her daughter compete, the tournament represents something bigger than basketball.
"Well, I think that sports in general is important because it's important just to an individual's growth, but when you think about female women's sports, it is something that we are working so hard to just become the best at and we have so much talent," Thomas said.
Thomas encourages the Fort Myers community to embrace women's basketball, noting the talent on display deserves bigger crowds.
"These stands aren't as full as they should be, but they will be, and I am confident that once we get the cadence going as we have, it's only going to get better with time. the treat is yours and the blessing is ours," she said.
In Besser's history, the tournament's commitment to women's sports runs deep, dating back to the late 1980s.
"We have made this commitment, and it's literally goes back to the late 80s. So we were the first, I think we were probably the first out there, and we love being out there," Besser said.
The tournament continues through Saturday with all games broadcast on ION Television. Friday's evening games include Butler versus Dayton at 5 p.m. and Kansas against Georgia at 7:30 p.m.
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