Women’s hoops tourney underway
Families and players yearn for connection
Baylor’s Moon Ursin scores over Jackson State’s Ameshya Williams in the first round of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament at the Alamodome on Sunday. Baylor won, 101-52, and heads to the second round.
Timothy Wyatt stood up, raised his arms and made sure his daughter could see him. He’d flown halfway across the country to be here, to yell and scream for the young woman he’d raised as she plays on the stage she’d long dreamed of reaching, and they at least needed to share one of these moments.
Sure enough, the father and daughter caught each other’s eyes, because even in a stadium with 72,000 seats, the elder Wyatt was easy to spot. Fewer than 400 fans, all on player and coach pass lists, were allowed into the cavernous Alamodome for the first day of the NCAA women’s tournament Sunday, so when the games ended the competitors looked up and waved to parents and aunts and uncles from 50 feet away.
There were no hugs. Wyatt will get one from his daughter
Tatyana, a senior forward for Kentucky, at some point, but not quite yet.
“I'm looking forward to it,” the proud father said. “But actually I hope it's not going to happen for a while.”
Such are the conflicted emotions that come with the most surreal edition of March Madness in memory.
As long as the Wildcats, who beat Idaho State in the first round Sunday, keep winning, Tatyana Wyatt and her teammates have to remain isolated in their bubble, venturing only from their hotel to the basketball floor and seeing no one in between. If Kentucky makes the Final Four, Timothy Wyatt won't get his hug until the first week of April.
Meanwhile, as much as fans who attended the six Sunday games at the Alamodome — played on two courts separated by curtains — praised organizers for making this happen during a pandemic, they also couldn't help wishing the whole thing felt a little more, well, special.
“The energy level was a little low,” said Brynr Garnett, the brother of Idaho State guard Finley Garnett. “From that standpoint, it's a bit of a bummer.”
And look, everyone, including the Garnetts, understand the reasons for this. With new cases of COVID-19 still turning up in Texas and around the country, organizers don't want to risk another outbreak by letting fans pack into the various venues being used throughout the San Antonio area for the 64-team tournament.
More fans will be allowed next week, when the Alamodome crowd will bump up to 17 percent capacity for the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight rounds, but even the loudest family members were swallowed into the dome's vastness.
“There's a lot of space,” Wyatt said. “Plenty of space.”
“With a pandemic, it's different,” said Jessica Boler, the mother of Jackson State guard Ti'lan Boler. “But we're glad to be here, wearing a mask and all.”
It made for a strange scene, both inside the dome and out. Most years, an event like the NCAA Tournament would have brought a festive vibe to the parking lots and streets surrounding the dome, which remained mostly traffic-free Sunday. In fact, the only lot in the area close to being filled was the one on the southeast corner, which has been used for the past few weeks as a drive-through vaccination site.
Those who traveled from out of town knew this version of the “Big Dance” wouldn't be much of a party. The Bolers came from Mississippi, but stayed with family in Houston and drove in only for the day.
Timothy Wyatt flew to Austin from his home in Georgia, and was picked up by his brother, Darwin, who lives in Harker Heights. They'll be back in San Antonio on Tuesday for Kentucky's secondround game, and hope to keep coming back for two more weekends.
In the meantime, their
contact with Tatyana is limited to telephone and text messages, even though they all were in the same building Sunday.
Traditionally, players would be able to meet family members for dinner, or at least experience part of the city hosting the games. Those playing in San Antonio this month mainly are limited to one floor of their hotels, where guests are not allowed.
“I know that's worn on them a little bit,” said Lorie Garnett, Brynr's wife and Finley's sister-in-law. “The isolation and lack of social stuff has been hard.”
For the Garnetts, it had been six months since they'd talked to their favorite Idaho State player in person. And standing outside the Alamodome late Sunday evening, they weren't sure if that would change this week.
Then Brynr's phone rang. His sister Finley, having just had her season come to an end in a loss to Kentucky, had sent a text with some good news.
“She says if we go stand in front of the hotel,” Brynr told his wife, “she can come outside and see us.”
And just like that, they were off.
For one family, at least, there would be a hug on Sunday after all.