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The Air Force team won the 2004 Armed Forces Women’s Basketball Championship at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., April 2 to 10.
“This was the most talented team I have had in seven years,” said Master Sgt. Larry Glover, the All-Air Force Women’s team coach and the NCO in charge, Life Skills, 435th Medical Operations Squadron, Ramstein.
They upset the perennial championship Army team in the final double round-robin championship.
The powerhouse Army team won the championship every year since Navy defeated them in 1991 at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
The Air Force won its only previous title at Chanute Air Force Base, Ill., in 1981.
“Even though we lost to Army in the first round by three points, we were very confident going into the final game,” said Glover. “Our plan was to be very aggressive offensively and attack the basket because we felt we were quicker and more athletic.”
In the final showdown, Air Force had to beat Army by at least 3 points in the final game to win the championship (based on final win-loss record and actual head-to-head results in the tournament).
After leading the championship game by as many as 11 points, Air Force went into half-time trailing 41-40; however, Air Force came back and took an 81-74 final victory over the Army.
“The difference in this game versus my previous six years was that we really executed and made plays down the stretch which led us to victory,” said Glover. “It was equally sweet to win the championship and to be the first team to win it in 23 years for the Air Force.”
(Courtesy of U.S. Air Forces in Europe Public Affairs Office)
