WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. – The action on the court during the NCAA’s women’s tournament inspires Metro Detroit high school athletes.
The LSU Tigers-Iowa Hawkeyes 2023 Women’s National Championship rematch more than lived up to the hype.
“We didn’t know Iowa was going to get that upset,” said Ava Lord, a West Bloomfield High School basketball player. “It was crazy. I wasn’t expecting that, really.”
Iowa’s Caitlin Clark scored 41 points in Monday’s (April 1) victory to help her team advance to the 2024 women’s Final Four.
“She is incredible,” said WBHS basketball player Kendall Hendrix. “I have never seen someone shoot that precisely so far away. I’m blown away.”
The West Bloomfield High School girls basketball team knows what being on top is like, as the team reclaimed the state title last month.
It was the team’s third consecutive appearance in the championship game, their second win in three years.
“It was a relief because we just worked so hard, and in the playoffs, it can be a really stressful time,” WBHS basketball player Sheridan Beal said. “So, to just know that all our work paid off, it felt great.”
The women’s tournament makes West Bloomfield players even more excited about playing at the next level.
“It makes me want to get there,” Beal said. “It makes me know that I can do it. If they can do it, I can do it. It makes me exited to get to that level.”
Hendrix has committed to playing for Loyola Chicago.
Andrea Brimmer, a former Michigan State University soccer player, is building more support for women’s sports.
As Ally Financial’s chief marketing and PR officer, she has been working to increase the company’s paid media investment in women’s sports to match that of men’s sports.
“There is a whole ecosystem that is still built against women’s sports that brands and others need to help break down and that ecosystem is everything from the media coverage to the way we value female athletes,” Brimmer said.