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Female basketball teams celebrate International Women's Day

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Lynsie Nichols
  • 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
All female teams from the Transit Center at Manas and the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University competed in a friendly basketball competition March 3 in celebration of International Women's Day.

The Transit Center team beat the Kyrgyz team after Staff Sgt. Theresa Mathis made a free-throw that tied the game and took the competition into overtime.

"When I made that shot, it was simply a relief," said Mathis, 376th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron NCO in charge at Pete's Place recreational center. She is deployed here from Hurlburt Field, Fla. "I was afraid all our hard work was going down the drain because I missed my first one. The pressure was on."

Mathis added that the team effort was key to winning. "Those girls were a tough team to beat," she said.

"I had a lot of fun... it was an intense game," said Muhtaram Akmatova, a right forward for the Kyrgyz team. "Everybody had great teamwork."

"The (Kyrgyz) team was nothing short of amazing," Mathis said. "They played great and had fantastic sportsmanship."

"It was a great honor to be a part of this memorable even," said Staff Sgt. Charlotte Jones, 376th EFSS dining facility storeroom NCO in charge who is deployed here from Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark. "I really enjoyed playing and interacting with the Kyrgyz women's team."

International Women's Day is held March 8 every year. This year's UN theme is "Empower Women-- End Hunger and Poverty."