I Got Ball

Summary

Snap Judgment Episode Summary: "I Got Ball"

Release Date: December 5, 2024
Host/Author: Snap Judgment and PRX
Description: Snap Judgment blends real stories with dynamic beats to deliver cinematic radio narratives. This episode, "I Got Ball," delves into the creation and struggles of the Women's Premier Basketball Association (WPBA) in Oakland, California, highlighting the relentless pursuit of its CEO, Fatima Amonra, and aspiring player, Delia Moore.

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1. Oakland's Sports Legacy and Decline

The episode opens by painting a vivid picture of Oakland, California, once a vibrant sports city home to iconic teams like the Oakland Raiders, A's, and Golden State Warriors. However, recent mismanagement and poor ownership decisions have led to the city's sports decline.

Narrator (00:00:11): "But now, now we have the curse. The curse of the worst. The very worst, most idiotic, confused... sports ownership in the history of the lunatic system."

The departure of beloved teams and the relocation of key players have left the community reeling, setting the stage for a new hope in women's basketball.

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2. Introducing Delia Moore: A College Athlete's Dilemma

Delia Moore, a dedicated college basketball player at Cal State University, finds herself at a crossroads as graduation looms and her team is on the verge of winning the championship.

Delia Moore (00:05:04): "This wasn't just any game. This was her last game before graduating, and her team was on the verge of winning the championship."

Despite her team's dominance, Delia grapples with the reality that her basketball journey might be ending, sparking her desire to continue playing professionally.

Sterling Cuneo (00:05:38): "I had worked my whole life on these skills... that it just end."

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3. Fatima Amonra: Founder of the WPBA

Enter Fatima Amonra, a visionary athlete determined to expand opportunities for women in basketball. Frustrated by limited spots in the WNBA and the challenges of playing overseas, Fatima establishes the Women's Premier Basketball Association (WPBA) to create a sustainable professional league in Oakland.

Fatima Amonra (00:07:03): "This is the women's PBA... what it's going to be. This is what it has the potential to do."

Fatima's initiative provides a platform for talented women like Delia to showcase their skills and pursue professional careers without leaving their hometown.

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4. Delia's Journey into the WPBA

Encouraged by Fatima, Delia attends WPBA tryouts in Oakland, competing against over 50 women for limited spots.

Delia Moore (00:07:46): "Fatima told me to come to tryouts in Oakland."

The intense competition pushes Delia to her limits, but her perseverance pays off as she secures a position with the Bay Area Phoenix.

Narrator (00:10:03): "The season kicked off and the lights were a little too bright on game one."

Delia quickly proves herself as a top rookie, balancing performance with the pressures of building a professional career.

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5. Fatima's International Aspirations and Personal Struggles

While nurturing the WPBA, Fatima also pursues her own international career, playing for teams across Europe. The demands of managing the league and seeking her next contract strain her personal life.

Fatima Amonra (00:14:38): "I'm constantly picking up and moving into a different situation... it kind of sucks, but it comes with this."

Her dedication to the WPBA is unwavering, even as she faces uncertainty in her professional trajectory.

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6. WPBA's Rise and Media Attention

The WPBA gains momentum, attracting media attention and expanding its influence. Fatima's efforts culminate in a front-page feature in the San Francisco Chronicle, boosting the league's visibility.

Bo Walsh (00:19:07): "Front page? Like, that's crazy... I thought I was literally just gonna be in the sports section."

This exposure helps the WPBA secure more players and opportunities, solidifying its presence in the professional sports landscape.

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7. Season Highlights and Challenges

The WPBA season showcases standout performances, particularly from rookies like Delia. However, the pressure mounts as Fatima's own performance declines, jeopardizing her chances of securing her next contract.

Fatima Amonra (00:25:14): "I need to give this out."

Delia's success in the league serves as a beacon of hope, demonstrating the WPBA's potential to propel players onto international stages.

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8. Climax: Playoffs and Future Prospects

As the playoffs approach, Fatima faces intense scrutiny over her performance, while Delia receives international offers, marking significant milestones for both.

Sterling Cuneo (00:24:37): "The Ulster University team in Ireland... I don't really know exactly what I'm signing up for, but I'm excited."

The season concludes with mixed outcomes: Fatima's league faces setbacks, but her efforts lay a strong foundation for future growth.

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9. Conclusion: Resilience and Legacy

"I Got Ball" encapsulates the resilience of women athletes striving to create their own opportunities amidst adversity. Fatima Amonra's entrepreneurial spirit and Delia Moore's athletic prowess highlight the transformative power of determination and community support in Oakland's evolving sports scene.

Delia Moore (00:31:56): "Whether we continue with the relationship or not... they would not have that opportunity to just."

The episode underscores the importance of creating inclusive platforms that empower women to pursue their dreams, leaving a lasting legacy for future generations.

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Notable Quotes

• Delia Moore (00:05:04): "This wasn't just any game. This was her last game before graduating..."
• Sterling Cuneo (00:05:38): "I had worked my whole life on these skills... that it just end."
• Fatima Amonra (00:07:03): "This is the women's PBA... what it's going to be."
• Bo Walsh (00:19:07): "Front page? Like, that's crazy... I thought I was literally just gonna be in the sports section."

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Final Thoughts

"I Got Ball" is a compelling narrative of ambition, struggle, and triumph within the realm of women's basketball. Through vivid storytelling and authentic voices, Snap Judgment sheds light on the pivotal role of grassroots initiatives like the WPBA in shaping the future of sports and empowering female athletes.

For more information and to listen to the full episode, visit snapjudgment.org.

Transcript

[Glenn Washington]

Snap Studios. Snap Judgment is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. You chose to hit play on this podcast today. Smart choice. Make another smart choice with Autoquote Explorer to compare rates from multiple car insurance companies all at once. Try [e-mail] Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Not available in all states or situations. Prices vary based on how you buy. Sterling Cuneo was sentenced to life without parole as a teenager. Decades later, his fate lies in the hands of the parole board. Can people really change? PRX presents Cell Blocks to Mountaintops, a podcast and video series that examines how America addresses violence and seeks accountability, told through one man's relentless pursuit of redemption. Reviewers have raved, I was on the edge of my seat. I could not stop listening. Binge the entire series now. Wherever you get your podcast, visit cellblockstomountaintops.com for more information. Okay, so this place where I live, Oakland, California, it is, or was until very recently, a sports city. The Oakland Raiders, the Oakland A's, the Golden State warriors, all called this place home because of the fans and the weather and the history and the swagger. It's like these teams form part of the collective identity of this place. Win or lose, up or down. But now, now we have the curse. The curse of the worst. The very worst, most idiotic, confused, bumb, venal, greedy, lunatic sports ownership in the history of the lunatic system. What the Fishers did to the Oakland A's should be the subject of a federal criminal investigation. With prison time, the Oakland Raiders snatched away in the dead of night, a slap in the face against all that is good and all that is holy. Steph Curry and the warriors moved just 10 minutes away to San Francisco. Not completely horrible, at least that one was smart. But it's still stings. Were reeling. We had the trifecta and now we've got squat because billionaires ruin everything. But then a little while ago, I'm reading a paper and there's a big article about a woman, a hoopster, trying to make it into the big leagues who sees that there's not enough spots in the WNBA to support her fellow athletes, this amazing pool of talented women. And she thinks, what if instead of battling over the slivers from this tiny pie, what if she works to make a larger pie? What if the WNBA gets bigger so they can play here on a brand new WNBA expansion team in Oakland and give us something to cheer for before the billionaires mess it up? What if? And what would she be willing to sacrifice to make it happen? We're about to find out. Because today On Snap Judgment, we proudly present I Got Bald. See, now people ask me all the time why I didn't join the NBA myself with all the fame and the money. In the end, you know, I just decided public radio was a better fit. That's why you're listening to Snap Judgment. Yes, that dude from Ted Lasso said that football is life, and that's true, but basketball is heart and soul. You can go to any gym, watch a game, and you'll see a whole story with heroes, villains, plot twists, the shocking ending told in four quarters. And because these real stories use real language, snappers sensitive listeners are advised because photographer Brittany Burgess and Snap producer Bo Walsh brings us a tale about one Oakland hoopster who has to do a lot more than just play ball. She has to create a league of her own. Snap Judgment.

[Delia Moore]

Delia Moore was playing in a college basketball game for Cal State University.

[Fatima Amonra]

East Bay steps back looking for another.

[Glenn Washington]

Oh, Tellia Moore.

[Delia Moore]

This wasn't just any game. This was her last game before graduating, and her team was on the verge of winning the championship.

[Sterling Cuneo]

In that last year, I knew our team could make it. And there was a lot of pressure at the end of season for the seniors, like, let's send them home on a win. Let's have them get a historic season.

[Delia Moore]

With her team in control in the fourth quarter, Dalia was having a hard time celebrating. She was accepting that this was the last time she would be lacing them up.

[Sterling Cuneo]

I was still having so much fun, so much passion for the game. I had worked my whole life on these skills, and all the time and sweat and tears that I put into it, it almost didn't feel logical for it to just end. I was like, that doesn't seem like the way my life should be. And it makes the most sense that I should try to do something with it.

[Brittany Burgess]

No doubt about this one. They were dominant from start to finish. And the score.

[Delia Moore]

As the clock wound down, there was someone in the stands who could possibly give her a lifeline to keep playing ball at the college.

[Bo Walsh]

I was watching all these young ladies compete, and I'm looking at, you know, who's getting ready to graduate. Okay, it's good to see you. Good luck today. It's gonna be a good game. I'm gonna be watching.

[Delia Moore]

Fatima is not from the WNBA or a scout from a European club looking for players. Who she is is a woman who started her own professional league, the wpba.

[Bo Walsh]

Trying to reach out to players and see who all is graduating and let them know that this is another option for them.

[Delia Moore]

The WPPA is a space she created for people exactly like Dillian Moore.

[Bo Walsh]

If they're not WNBA training camp picks or anything like that, it's really hard to like figure it out. And that's why a lot of women, they get discouraged or they just gave up on their dream of playing.

[Delia Moore]

The Women's Premier Basketball association is a launching pad for players looking to become a pro. And for women's basketball, there are two paths. If you make the WNBA great, but if you don't, you have to go overseas. And Fatima created the WPBA for this reason.

[Sterling Cuneo]

She was like, this is what the women's PBA is about. This is where it's going. This is what it has the potential to do.

[Bo Walsh]

We've had players that are first time players here in this league and now they're, you know, still playing professionally overseas. Just by being able to be in.

[Sterling Cuneo]

This, the idea of playing basketball in another country and getting paid for it as a profession, that was just not something I even had known was possible.

[Delia Moore]

Fatima told Delia to come to tryouts in Oakland.

[Bo Walsh]

And I was just like, if you do X, Y and Z, I will help you get overseas.

[Delia Moore]

Delia walked in the gym at the WPBA tryouts. Just one of over 50 women competing for spots on eight teams.

[Bo Walsh]

That's a big girl. That's how her mama play defense now.

[Sterling Cuneo]

I'm gonna hold you. Everybody soft out here. I'm trying to get those cookies, you know, clamps lock up D on the basketball court, respect is not given, it's earned. And even in tryouts, there were those instances where people are trying to put you in your place, you know, Game time, game time.

[Delia Moore]

You're not gonna hit me, you're not gonna bully me without me returning it. I surprised myself honestly with how good I still am.

[Bo Walsh]

Oh, shit, bro. Hey, I like her.

[Delia Moore]

It's a battle of skills and resumes, veterans versus rookies, to get a chance to compete in the eight week league. The opportunity to show your talent and just maybe get signed to an international pro team.

[Bo Walsh]

Are they finna cook, bro?

[Sterling Cuneo]

She finna eat her alive, I'm assuming. I'm playing with, you know, some college people and they're like, oh no, I'm actually 27, played here, graduated here and have played pro XYZ years.

[Delia Moore]

Delia was thrown into it and she was getting cooked at 5, 6. She was struggling to defend against bigger, faster and stronger pros.

[Sterling Cuneo]

You just realize that no one's here to take it easy if someone's gonna score on you they will and then they'll tell you how bad you did trying to stop them.

[Bo Walsh]

She's off, she's off.

[Sterling Cuneo]

Everyone talks a little bit of trash and you know, they go at me, they score and you know, they're like light work.

[Bo Walsh]

Oh, hey, I won.

[Delia Moore]

Everything is caught on camera in the WPBA for international scouts and your highlight reel is how you land a contract.

[Sterling Cuneo]

You know, it's a high level. I didn't want to go to the women's PBA and get dusted and have just film of me getting scored on.

[Delia Moore]

Delia ended up playing well enough to get drafted by the Bay Area Phoenix, one of eight teams in the WPBA head draw.

[Glenn Washington]

Number 11, Delia.

[Delia Moore]

The season kicked off and the lights were a little too bright on game one.

[Sterling Cuneo]

I wanted to come in, I wanted to be a starter, I wanted to be one of the top scorers, one of the main contributors. And I think for me it didn't happen immediately. I think it was for me finding my role and sort of not shying away quickly.

[Fatima Amonra]

The other way. More of three, Delia Moore from downtown the CSU East Bay Prada.

[Delia Moore]

She managed to chip in seven points, but they didn't come easy as Delia had to work twice as hard at this level to get a bucket.

[Sterling Cuneo]

You know, I get my shot blocked or I get my pocket picked. And it's just a reminder that some of the moves that worked at the college level, they have to be faster, they have to be quicker. You know, they just have to be elevated because people at this level, they're older, more experienced, more athletic and you know, they'll expose you.

[Fatima Amonra]

It's Delia Moore down the lane to the hoop, up the left. No good.

[Sterling Cuneo]

I was hard on myself because I knew that where I wanted to be was not where I was. It was more of just like a frustration with where I was at. I just questioned, am I cut out for this?

[Delia Moore]

And if her opponents were getting into her head in her next game, the rookie was about to match up with a familiar face.

[Bo Walsh]

Hey, we gotta talk. We got it right here. Yeah, we see it, we see it. Watch that hand.

[Delia Moore]

Off starting point guard for the first place Alameda Wolves was none other than the CEO Fatima.

[Fatima Amonra]

Fatima a the CEO of the wpba and the CEO starts this game off nicely.

[Delia Moore]

Fatima's in her bag to start to season. She's playing seven countries for seven teams and she's out here looking for her next international contractima.

[Fatima Amonra]

No one picks her up. She'll pull up and drain it, yeah.

[Glenn Washington]

You can't do that. Fatima's gonna make you respect that all day long.

[Bo Walsh]

Literally finished my sixth season. Getting ready to go and play for team Jamaica soon. So even after that, like, I'm pretty sure I'm going back overseas. The deal is in the works right now. I got ball.

[Delia Moore]

And the other players know if you can ball out against the CEO, it could open the eyes of a scout.

[Bo Walsh]

I love the challenge. It keeps me on my toes and I love the fact that they respect me enough to, you know, bring that same energy every single time out. So I don't even think of it as like a target on my back. Like, I know what I'm getting into every time I step out on the court.

[Brittany Burgess]

We're now fully underway. The Wolves will assist out deep in their own territory.

[Delia Moore]

Back in the game. Delia's Phoenix are trailing Fatima's Wolves by double digits. And Delia has not even been on the court. She was on the sidelines after leaving early with an injury.

[Sterling Cuneo]

I had hurt my ankle in that game. I had gone out really quick. I had a few fouls and they put me back in and I decided I was going to play my heart out and I was going to try to win. And I just, I went into the game, I immediately got a stop, a layup.

[Glenn Washington]

Delia Moore able to cut it to.

[Delia Moore]

A seven point deficit. Delia got a stop on defense and with ice in her veins, came back down court and hit back to back threes. Delia Moore, one possession.

[Brittany Burgess]

Bowl game.

[Delia Moore]

These Phoenix just don't go away.

[Sterling Cuneo]

I kept us in the game and ultimately I think we lost that game by two or three points. But in that game, I sort of proved myself and to other people what I was capable of. And that was a really great feeling to have.

[Bo Walsh]

Hi. You're so cute.

[Delia Moore]

For every young player like Delia that walks on the court in Oakland, most have a dream of playing professionally overseas. But Fatima has been living this for a while now, and it's a lot more like a grind.

[Bo Walsh]

Basketball is like my pride and joy. Like, I don't have kids yet, but basketball is just like what I imagine that feeling to be like. When I am not doing this, I'm nine times out of ten, I'm overseas, so I'm not with my friends or my family or my, like, loved ones, really. How are you? Good.

[Delia Moore]

Two months ago she was playing in Ireland, averaging 25 points per game. But now she comes back home to Oakland and she doesn't even have a place to stay in her Hometown.

[Bo Walsh]

I feel like my life is constantly revolved around figuring out what my next move is going to be. I'm 31 and I don't have, like, my own home to, like, just house my things. You know, I'm constantly picking up and moving into a different situation or asking friends or family if I can just leave my things at their place the time that I'm gone, because I don't have a solid place to hold my stuff. It kind of sucks, but it comes with this.

[Delia Moore]

Before Ireland, she was lining it up in Spain and Mexico. Each contract is for one season. For Fatima, Europe is the dream. Pay is higher, the crowds are bigger. It's the highest tier.

[Bo Walsh]

Overseas. People just have so much more of a battle as opposed to, like, NBA and WNBA players. And if you don't love it, it's not for you. Like, this isn't for the. You gotta have a strong heart to be able to do this. Am I moving, bouncing and finishing?

[Delia Moore]

Part of the reason she created the WPBA was to keep her own highlight reel fresh. She's 31 and playing with no guarantees.

[Bo Walsh]

Yeah, I want to be able to play in what I've created because it's just, like, who knows when I'm going to have to, like, throw the towel and say that I just have to take on one role. So I'm going to continue to do this until I can't anymore.

[Glenn Washington]

As soon as I take your hand away.

[Bo Walsh]

Oh, okay.

[Delia Moore]

Fatima started the WPBA in 2022 with just the money she had in her pockets from playing hoops while hustling side jobs like driving Uber.

[Bo Walsh]

I had to, like, Airbnb my place and stay elsewhere so that I can make sure that I'm covering that rent. I had to make sure I paid for the gym for the season and paid for the officials.

[Delia Moore]

She hit up everyone she knew to let them know she needed help. Coaches, trainers, players.

[Bo Walsh]

She's a boss for sure.

[Sterling Cuneo]

Being able to put something like this together.

[Brittany Burgess]

Fatima is literally an example of what.

[Delia Moore]

You learn in the East Bay, which is less hustle and make something grow out of nothing.

[Bo Walsh]

How can I get these photos from you? After?

[Glenn Washington]

I'll send them to you.

[Brittany Burgess]

Okay, I'll hook you up.

[Fatima Amonra]

Now that I know that you're a.

[Glenn Washington]

Sister, I'm with you. I got you.

[Bo Walsh]

I appreciate you. Thank you. Let me text you. If you build it. If you build it right, they'll come.

[Delia Moore]

Players started calling when they heard that WPBA could land them the next deal.

[Sterling Cuneo]

I heard through the grapevine the basketball World is a little bit small out here. So they told me about it and I was like, oh, yeah, I definitely want to be a part of it. She's like, hey, we're going to have this high level basketball community and league out here. Would you like to participate? I said, hell yeah.

[Bo Walsh]

My goal was just to get out.

[Delia Moore]

See if he can still play, and.

[Brittany Burgess]

See what happens, and hopefully I can live out the dream.

[Delia Moore]

The WPBA hit the ground running in its debut season.

[Glenn Washington]

It's WPBA basketball.

[Bo Walsh]

I think for the overall package of the league, it looked amazing.

[Delia Moore]

There was an explosion of popularity of women's basketball that took place in 2023.

[Fatima Amonra]

And Angel Reese knows a ring is coming. Clark separates and knocks down another a.

[Glenn Washington]

Title game record 73 for Caitlin Clark.

[Bo Walsh]

How big of a deal is it for the WNBA that Stewie is headed to the Liberty?

[Brittany Burgess]

This is the super team era now.

[Delia Moore]

The iron was hot, in fact, sizzling. And Fatima knew there was no better time than now to get the league as much shine in the media as possible.

[Bo Walsh]

My goal this season was to put the WPBA on the map. I'm like, okay, what can I do to bring a little bit more visibility to the league?

[Delia Moore]

Then around mid season, Fatima finds herself on the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper.

[Bo Walsh]

Front page? Like, that's crazy. Did I know it was gonna be front page? No, I did not. I thought I was literally just gonna be in the sports section, but I mean, shit, that's amazing. Hey, put this on the fridge. Oh, no.

[Brittany Burgess]

Whoa.

[Delia Moore]

You everywhere right now.

[Bo Walsh]

Famous. Famous. Like, if anyone of them would have told me, like, I'd be on their front page a couple years back, I probably wouldn't believe them. Hey, how are you?

[Glenn Washington]

Monica, Congratulations.

[Bo Walsh]

Thank you.

[Brittany Burgess]

You gonna head us Nationwide pretty soon?

[Bo Walsh]

Shit, I hope so. I need some. I need some nationwide money coming in. Good to see you.

[Delia Moore]

More attention and more press is great, but the one thing Fatima can't get any more of is more time.

[Bo Walsh]

I'm tired, you know, everything's good. I can go resume eating. Okay. All right. Everybody has a blessed. Everybody a blessed afternoon, huh?

[Delia Moore]

Okay.

[Sterling Cuneo]

Okay.

[Delia Moore]

Meanwhile, Dilya Moore is now hooping at full speed to Moore.

[Brittany Burgess]

Moore driving with her off hand.

[Delia Moore]

A great finish with the left.

[Glenn Washington]

Have you a game, Ms. Moore?

[Delia Moore]

She has quickly blossomed into one of the league's top rookies.

[Fatima Amonra]

Moore, step through. Off the glass. Nicely done. Delia Moore doing work here.

[Delia Moore]

And with Fatima's help, Delia built herself a highlight reel.

[Bo Walsh]

Teams are now starting to look for players. I Want to make sure that these players here are in the best shape possible to, you know, get picked up. So, you know, while we're working on their resumes, I'm uploading films. She's on a new team, so I played for Plateras last year, so she's playing for this year 100%. I'm really happy she took the path that she did and she's now, after.

[Sterling Cuneo]

Working with her a little bit on that and talking to her about her experiences, I was able to figure out what sort of, what sort of league was going to be a good fit for rookies.

[Delia Moore]

While trying to get Delia overseas, though, Fatima's own next opportunity just showed up as she's entering contract negotiations with a club in England.

[Bo Walsh]

The team is over in Manchester. They're the Manchester Mystics over in the WBBL in England. Recently, I've been able to, you know, speak with some of the people in the coaching staff. You know, everything aligns. I'm happy. I'm really hoping we can come to terms because I would really love to be there this year. And so literally, it's just a waiting game. I'm not anxious like I would have been, you know, in the beginning stages of my career.

[Glenn Washington]

When we return. The WPBA is blowing up, but can the league CEO Fatima get her players signed overseas and still do what she has to do to land her own contract? Stay tuned. Spark something uncommon this holiday with just the right gift from Uncommon Goods. When you shop at Uncommon Goods, you're supporting artists and small independent businesses. And when I think of the best gifts, I think of wonder, delight, joy, the I didn't even know this existed and it's the best thing ever. Feeling. That's what UncommonGoods.com is all about. Like, imagine creating a beautiful personal map of all the places important to your love story. Something gorgeous that you and your special someone can hang on the wall. Create it with a real map maker guy. Imagine the look in their eyes when they realize what they're seeing. That is just one of the real gifts you can give. And wait for that surprise, that delight, that shock to brighten the eyes of the people you love. To get 15% off your next gift, go to UncommonGoods.com snap that's UncommonGoods.com snap for 15% off. Don't miss out on this limited time offer. Uncommon Goods. We're all out of the ordinary. Welcome back to Snap Judgment, the I Got Ball episode. When last we left, veteran hoofster Fatima took one of her league's Rookies Delia under her wing show her how to be a pro. But Delia's had to learn that this is not college ball. Can she keep her hoop dreams alive? Snap judgment.

[Delia Moore]

Delia's highlight reel is making the rounds.

[Bo Walsh]

Oh, Morris stripes the ball away.

[Glenn Washington]

She's gonna shoot three.

[Sterling Cuneo]

She gonna make it.

[Fatima Amonra]

Beautiful bounce pass to Delia Moore with the left hand.

[Delia Moore]

Moore.

[Brittany Burgess]

Moore crossover dribble at the three, and.

[Delia Moore]

Pretty quickly she gets a bite. The club in Ireland is interested in.

[Fatima Amonra]

The rookie head coach with the Ulster University. I am also a basketball development officer with Basketball Ireland.

[Delia Moore]

They're looking for a guard and, like, what they saw from the East Bay prospect.

[Fatima Amonra]

So you're right up there in our conversation from a basketball skills point of.

[Brittany Burgess]

View and what we're looking for.

[Sterling Cuneo]

I think having a team reach out to me personally and wanting to connect was really exciting. I knew that they liked what they saw, and if I could continue to be that player, then, you know, things would look good for me.

[Bo Walsh]

I'm gonna let you keep that negativity to yourself. Not inviting that energy over here.

[Delia Moore]

While Dilly is one step closer to being a pro, the Manchester misses are cautiously waiting on signing Fatima.

[Bo Walsh]

I'm expecting to just go out there and just have fun. And, yeah, I just want to give the fans something to watch, something to enjoy. Obviously my future club is watching, so I gotta make sure I perform, so there's that. Here we go. One, two, three. Devos. Hey, who's.

[Delia Moore]

Nothing there as Fatima Amonra Airballs.

[Sterling Cuneo]

That one.

[Fatima Amonra]

Fatima. Tough feed.

[Delia Moore]

The league is hot, but Fatima's play is not. Her stats have dropped, which isn't helping her case for getting signed.

[Bo Walsh]

You are experiencing so much anxiety because you're just like, damn, what if I don't get picked up again for the next season? Like, are my stats good enough? Is someone gonna, like, take a chance on me? Hey, hey. Let's just stop talking about, like, what people are doing off their shop.

[Delia Moore]

The losses are beginning to mount for Fatima's Wolves shot.

[Glenn Washington]

You don't assume the Wolves are gonna.

[Fatima Amonra]

Play this sloppy the whole game.

[Sterling Cuneo]

Coach Frank Scott not too happy about that last play.

[Delia Moore]

And we're not making an extra pass.

[Glenn Washington]

Don't you get the ball. If it's gonna take you longer than three seconds to make a decision, swing that motherfucker.

[Brittany Burgess]

Swing it.

[Glenn Washington]

When you see somebody open, just swing it.

[Delia Moore]

Play like y'all was playing the bun.

[Bo Walsh]

Team prayer.

[Delia Moore]

Fatima is the conductor and the engine that makes the Wolves go. But the pressure for her to play well for a New contract hasn't made coaching the CEO easy.

[Glenn Washington]

She's been overseas a lot. She's very experienced, and so sometimes, you know, she can get a little big headed and we can go back and forth.

[Bo Walsh]

This is fucking crazy right now. Ain't no fucking way.

[Delia Moore]

Fatima Amonra still on the bench for.

[Brittany Burgess]

The Wolves with 146 to play in the first half.

[Glenn Washington]

I think it's just more so of the minutes, you know, how many minutes she plays. So sometimes when I pull her out, she's like, ah. But you know, it's like, we're still a team.

[Bo Walsh]

We got wolves on three. One, two, three. Wolves. It's hard. Like, you wake up every single morning, especially when I know it's getting closer and closer to that date where season's getting ready to start or players are more likely. You've already been picked up by teams, you're just like, damn, they got picked up, but I haven't been picked up yet. Or you've seen people that you've outperformed and you see them with certain jobs and like, I'm just like, why not me? Come on.

[Delia Moore]

With the season in Europe set to start in only a few weeks, Fatima couldn't have hit the wall at a more critical time. Negotiations.

[Sterling Cuneo]

Fatima pulls up shots. No good.

[Fatima Amonra]

And things are getting from worse to ugly. Fatima, that would have been really nice.

[Bo Walsh]

I talked to my therapist about this earlier this week. Just literally just not being in my head and playing. I kind of like psyched myself out and I just overthink. But I can either let it affect me or I can just continue to just do me. So at the end of the day, I'm all I got. I hate when people move my shit. I cry often. Like, I'll have my moments where I'm just like. I mean, I've now I've been told to just let it out rather than keep it in because I don't want to feel this feeling of just like, just being overly, like, overwhelmed. Y'all going to keep playing with me after the week I had? I need to read the room because you saw what happened firsthand today and I sent you a text. So I just need you to have my back.

[Delia Moore]

Where Fatima will play next season is up in the air. But the rookie, Delia Moore, she just got some big news from Ireland.

[Sterling Cuneo]

The Ulster University team in Ireland out of Belfast, they sort of made an offer for me and I have accepted the offer and I'm still waiting to sign a written contract that I should be getting, you know, end of the day today, hopefully that moment. I was just so excited and my parents were really excited for me and so were my sisters. And in a way I was like, I don't really know exactly what I'm signing up for, but I'm excited, you know, because you never really know what it's going to be until you're there. It felt like a dream, honestly. There's so many countries in the world, there's so many leagues, there's so many different ways this could have panned out for me.

[Delia Moore]

It's playoff time for the rest of the leagues, but Delia is headed out on a red eye plane to Belfast.

[Bo Walsh]

She's been like a little sister to me and the city will love her, the club will love her, the people will love her. But again, she's there to do a job. So just reminding her of that so that she again, once that season finishes, she's getting ready for the next job. But she's got it. It's all on her now.

[Glenn Washington]

Come on, let's go. One on me. One on three. One, two, three, win.

[Fatima Amonra]

And we're getting ready for the playoffs. It's gonna be a really interesting, interesting Saturday here.

[Sterling Cuneo]

Yes, it definitely is.

[Delia Moore]

I'm excited to see what happens. It's the first round of the playoffs and Fatima hopes to go deep and put all doubts behind her. But it's the worst time to go up against one of her star recruits, Mariah Cooks.

[Brittany Burgess]

I hadn't really played in a long.

[Delia Moore]

Time, so when Fatima reached out, I was like, okay, I don't know what.

[Bo Walsh]

You going to get.

[Fatima Amonra]

Comes Mariah Cooks, one of the best players in the league. Great driving, dish shot. Fay Cooks jumper, good. Mariah Cooks in her bag.

[Delia Moore]

Cooks was the league MVP this season and the Wolves have no answers for her.

[Fatima Amonra]

Fatima, one of the star players for Alameda right now, understandably towards midcourt, shaking her head.

[Delia Moore]

That's how I feel against any team in this league. I don't care who it is, we.

[Brittany Burgess]

Just have to show up ready to play.

[Delia Moore]

And if we play to win, we will win. With nothing left in the tank, Fatima season comes to an abrupt end as.

[Fatima Amonra]

The number four seeded Berkeley Royals upset the number one seeded Alameda Wolves. They take down the top.

[Bo Walsh]

Mariah had a hell of a game. She came in, she gave us two K numbers. Was I a little bit salty? Yes, I was. But I mean good job to her.

[Delia Moore]

You know, I have little girls coming up to me after the game telling me that they want to be just like me. Their dad's saying hey, watch her. That's who you need to be like, without this league, they would not have that opportunity to just. Whether we continue with the relationship or.

[Brittany Burgess]

Not, a seed was planted in them. They see that it's possible.

[Sterling Cuneo]

Tough crowd.

[Bo Walsh]

I'm going back over my corner. This is it right now. I got to give this out.

[Brittany Burgess]

All right.

[Bo Walsh]

Good job, player. Good job, player.

[Delia Moore]

On top of being bounced from the playoffs, the Manchester Mystics have not offered Fatima a contract for next season. Wherever she plays, it won't be in England.

[Bo Walsh]

Majority of the teams already picked up the players that they want, and I'm literally just, like, scrambling, trying to, like, figure out what my next move is. It kind of sucks because I am jobless. I'm still looking for an opportunity, but I'm staying ready. I'm staying in shape.

[Fatima Amonra]

Three thousand up for grabs right here and the WPBA championship.

[Bo Walsh]

It's a good little crowd today.

[Delia Moore]

The gym is packed for the WPBA championship. Fatima is looking like a CEO, shaking hands, looking relaxed, ready to watch her league finals.

[Glenn Washington]

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the floor the founder of the Women's Premier Basketball Association, Fatima.

[Bo Walsh]

Hey, my friends. Coming. Welcome. Thank you guys all for coming out tonight. We appreciate it. I am happy that I finally can, like, take a breath. I don't have to, like, wake up at, you know, seven in the morning and feel this overwhelming feeling of, like, anxiety. All this hard work over the summer, all this work starting from, like, last year and, like, literally October. This is a testament of all that. So I'm just happy with how it all turned out. No, I'll get another chair. I don't want to ruin the party right now. Thank you. I felt that I had done enough work that week and a half leading up to the finals game to just finally just sit there and enjoy it.

[Brittany Burgess]

Can we not see the mismatch?

[Glenn Washington]

I don't know.

[Brittany Burgess]

We didn't.

[Glenn Washington]

Tunnel vision.

[Delia Moore]

You wouldn't see the. Fatima overlooks the scene from the corner of the gym. She watches her league MVP put on a dominant performance, bullying her way inside.

[Fatima Amonra]

Mariah Cooks.

[Bo Walsh]

Watch the drop step. Yeah.

[Fatima Amonra]

Catch and shoot for Mariah Cooks. Wow.

[Delia Moore]

For the first time in eight weeks, Fatima can just be a basketball fan and sit back and appreciate the league she created.

[Bo Walsh]

I don't know. I was just having, like, a little moment to myself. Even though I was sitting with friends, I was just like, I'm. I don't say this enough to myself, but I was just like, fatima, I'm proud of you. Like, I'm really proud of all this work that you've put in.

[Brittany Burgess]

Are you happy?

[Glenn Washington]

A huge thank you for Teama A Delia Moore and everyone at the Women's Premier Basketball association for sharing their stories with the Snap. We're happy to report that a few months after the 2023 WPBA season concluded, Fatima signed a contract to play professionally in Kuwait, where she spent last season abroad, and she continues to play for the Jamaican Women's national team in international competition. And our rookie, Delia, she ended up having a successful debut season at Ulster University in Belfast, averaging 10 points per game, and she is back in Ireland this season playing for the Limerick Sports Huskies. You can find links for detima for Delia and the Women's Premier Basketball association On our website snapjudgment.org that piece was narrated by Brittany Burgess, documentary filmmaker and photographer out of Oakland who covers the wpba. You can find links to Britney's works on all platforms at Bayes interactions or click the links on our website snapjudgment.org the original score for that story was by Renzo Gorio, who was produced by Bo Walsh. After the break, another woman on a mission. Stay tuned. Welcome back to Snap Judgment. My name is Glenn Washington. Now then, you may know one of these people, people who can find a path that no one else can see. Sensitive listeners, please do Note this story includes situations of domestic violence. Listener discretion is advised. Snap judgments. Anna Sussman has a story.

[Hana Niela]

In the still early hours of the morning in the Cottonwood Campground deep in the Colorado desert, a tiny nine year old girl named Mandy quietly pulled on her sandals, opened the door to her family's camper and tiptoed out into the vast desert. When the family woke up, they had no idea where Mandy was. All they saw was sand.

[Brittany Burgess]

Everything in me stopped. Everything goes empty. I felt a deep, empty dread and especially for a child.

[Hana Niela]

Hana Nyala was the first person to respond from the Joshua Tree Search and Rescue team.

[Brittany Burgess]

We got the knock on our door. I got sent immediately to the campground to try to secure the scene, to try to figure out if we could get a footprint to do all the basic things that you have to do to try to lock it down.

[Hana Niela]

The first thing Hana did was talk to Mandy's mom and sister about Mandy's shoes. What size were they? What did they look like? Hana was able to find an imprint of Mandy's shoe pretty easily near their camper. She drew a picture of it, measured it, and then went searching for a trail of these tiny footprints to lead her out of the campground.

[Brittany Burgess]

I went alongside the main road of the campground. About 30ft out, time felt split. It was absolutely racing like a freight train. On the one hand, with me being behind Mandy and not having a good track yet, and then the other piece of it, time was passing excruciatingly slowly. While I was looking for that first footprint.

[Hana Niela]

It took less than an hour for Hannah and the tracking team to find Mandy's trail outside the campground. Hannah circled the first footprint with her tracking stick, a sawed off golf club. And then she followed little Mandy into the desert, step by step.

[Brittany Burgess]

As the hours passed, we were aware of the time. What I think about in the desert is temperature first, it's going to start dropping quickly. That's foremost on my mind more than anything else is we've got to get to this child before she's facing hypothermia. After more than an hour of working the track itself and on her trail, we then had one helicopter in the air and there was a fixed wing as well, which also was crisscrossing the area. They built a search base, emergency operations vehicles, a fuel truck. People were bringing meals in. It was a big effort. There were a lot of people. There were well over a hundred.

[Hana Niela]

Are you building a relationship with her in your head?

[Brittany Burgess]

You do you. I build a relationship from the beginning. By the time I found the first footprint, I was as connected to Mandy as I could get to a person. And when I started calling her name, you're calling her Mandy. Mandy. She was not my daughter, but I felt about her as if she were my family. I was that focused on bringing her back.

[Hana Niela]

Here's where Hannah's story becomes incredible because her actual family, her son and daughter, were missing.

[Brittany Burgess]

By the day that we started this search for Mandy, My daughter and son had been missing for well over a year.

[Hana Niela]

Before she ever became a search and rescue tracker. Hannah led a very different life. She owned a retail home decor shop in Oklahoma, and she was in an abusive marriage for years. She endured brutal violence at the hands of her husband until the night she had had enough.

[Brittany Burgess]

He choked me into unconsciousness. Now, he had done that before, but this time it hit me really hard that my two children were in their bedrooms in that house with him and that I was dying and would they would have nobody. Then.

[Hana Niela]

One day later, Hana hurried her son and daughter into her car with a backpack full of clothes and drove away into hiding.

[Brittany Burgess]

I did not expect us to survive. I believed that it would just be a matter of time till he caught up with us. And did what he had always said he would do if I ever left.

[Hana Niela]

So Hannah sought protection from police, family service agencies, private security guards. But she says her husband found them over and over again. She says he hunted at several points.

[Brittany Burgess]

And in four different states. We had the police involved and had police protection. And the officers put me in a Kevlar vest, a bulletproof vest. They had a person stationed outside the house and inside the house, outside the door of the bedroom that my children and I slept in.

[Hana Niela]

Her ex husband did get the kids. A judge allowed him temporary custody. She says the judge argued that wife abuse was irrelevant to child custody. He took the kids and he didn't bring them back. He'd have her daughter call Hana and then snatch the phone away and say, you'll never see your kids again. Hana moved from state to state and eventually moved to the middle of nowhere here to the desert.

[Brittany Burgess]

The desert at first was off putting because it was so forsaken. And I did not really know why I had chosen this.

[Hana Niela]

She started to work as a volunteer park ranger. But it turns out as a survivor of abuse, she was particularly well suited to tracking missing persons. So she was invited to join the Joshua Tree search and rescue team As.

[Brittany Burgess]

A battered woman and someone who was actively being stalked. Still, there are certain things that I pay more attention to than you would. So you don't necessarily need to see if there are footprints around your house. Coming to your house at night. The level of vigilance that you have to have in order to stay ahead of somebody who's stalking you gives you really good skills, actually, for being a tracker. That kind of vigilance doesn't let a lot of stuff slide.

[Hana Niela]

When Hannah and her kids would come home at the end of the day, she would search the ground around her house for tracks. So the road has become a single track. Rutted pavement, and there was a dead coyote in the middle of the road. And here there's just telephone poles and sand. And that's the house?

[Brittany Burgess]

That's the house.

[Hana Niela]

It's a nice little house.

[Brittany Burgess]

It is easily driven around. Before you come in, you can see tracks and footprints all the way around.

[Hana Niela]

This fence was looking for a footprint on hard packed, gravelly sand. Takes a mind boggling attention to detail. Looking on the desert floor, all I saw were sticks and pebbles kind of right in this two square feet in front of us. What do you see?

[Brittany Burgess]

Well, at least six different people have passed through here. You can see that people have stepped on. See this little stick right here? And rock that's Been stepped on.

[Hana Niela]

I have to say I see nothing where you're pointing right now. I just see dirt.

[Brittany Burgess]

Okay, you have part of a shoe here and now, I mean, a grain of sand just fell down from it.

[Hana Niela]

Did you say a grain of sand just fell off of that rock?

[Brittany Burgess]

Yeah, it did.

[Hana Niela]

You saw a grain of sand fall off?

[Brittany Burgess]

Yes, I did. That's the kind of detail it seems.

[Hana Niela]

To be to me an awfully exposed place for a vulnerable person to go.

[Brittany Burgess]

It is extremely exposed. But when you are in a place like this, it is not easy to come upon me unawares. I see you coming from a long ways away in the desert and it provided me safety at a level that I'd never had.

[Hana Niela]

But she wasn't entirely safe. She still couldn't protect her kids from everything. And even in the desert her husband would manage to get the kids again. At one point he took them from a court hearing and disappeared. There was a nationwide manhunt for her son and daughter.

[Brittany Burgess]

As ironic as it seems, when somebody leaves on foot from a place I'm good at that I can get out there and I can follow them and I would have a chance at finding them. When somebody drives off in a vehicle down a four lane highway with two children in the car, you have absolutely no easy way to follow them and know where they're going. I was sad for them all the time. No matter what I was doing. I was absolutely broken and sad and scared for what was happening to them for the duration of that search. For Mandy, for example, it became she was their child technically. But in a way the stakes are as high as if it were my daughter out there missing and I was looking for her. I probably had been going maybe three hours because we hadn't been getting detail for a while. We were in a really sandy area and she was doing a lot of weaving in and out and around and so the direction was changing quite a lot, crossing washes and turning back on herself and all of that kind of thing. She was getting tired and confused and.

[Hana Niela]

Then she looked up the wash to see a little nine year old girl trotting towards her.

[Brittany Burgess]

I heard her saying, I'm Mandy. And she came into view and we. There was a general huzzah across the desert from people all over the place. I was just immediately sort of swept up in that she's safe, she's safe.

[Hana Niela]

But when Hannah walked back to her home that night, she was still without her kids.

[Brittany Burgess]

It didn't help my children a bit what I did that day. And my children were still not out of danger. And I had not one wit of skills more to be able to get them out of danger.

[Hana Niela]

Eventually, her husband dropped her kids off at her door, only to take them again years later. The last and final time he took them. Local detectives in the sheriff's office issued an interstate APB for her missing kids. While police across the country were searching for her son and daughter, Hannah waited by the phone.

[Brittany Burgess]

It was a chilly day here in the high desert. I had not been able to focus very well with the children being gone. I got a phone call from the investigator's office that they had located my ex husband in another state and they arrested him and then went in and the children were not there. Always before when my children had been missing, I felt that they were alive in the world. When I got that phone call that he'd been found and they had not, I did not have that feeling. I was completely empty and I went outside in the desert. I stood there, I listened. I sat for long hours just on the ground, just sat down on the ground. I didn't track. I didn't think about tracking. I was just empty because I couldn't feel them anymore. It was a message on my answering machine. And the blinking light on my answering machine always signaled terror to me. But it took me some time to get to the machine and actually press the button and to listen to it. And they had left a message from the district attorney's office and the investigator saying we found your children. We found your children. They were alive and I just stood there empty and weeping. If this were some versions of Hollywood, it would have been tracking that brought my children home. The kind of tracking that I do is very simple, very down to earth. It is step by step. But none of those skills except the practice of tracking itself helped me with my children. The practice of tracking kept me alive and gave me hope.

[Glenn Washington]

Big thanks to Hana Niela west for sharing her story with the Snap. And if you are wondering, Hana's children are grown now and all relatively safe. Read more about Hana's amazing story on our website pointlastscene.com and heads up. Hana's website has links to resources for people suffering from domestic abuse. Original score for that story was by Renzo Gorio. It was produced by Anna Sussman. Understand if you missed even a moment, know that the Snap Judgment storytelling podcast awaits your ears each and every week. Or you can walk to Shadowlands with our evil twin podcast Spooked. Or you can hear amazing tales from the African continent from Mind your own with Lupita Nyong'o. All available wherever you get your podcast. KQD in San Francisco is SNAP's orbiting hall of Justice. Snap is brought to you by the team that can't dribble a basketball to save their lives. Except, of course, for the uber producer, Mr. Mark Ristich. He's from Michigan, too, and Michiganders can hoop others Nancy Lopez, Pat McMiller, Anna Sussman, Renzel Gorio, John Casillo, Shayna Shealy, Teo Ducat, Flo Wiley, Bo Walsh, Marissa Dodge, David Exime, and Regina Badiaco. And this is not the news. No ways is the news. In fact, your basketball gym could give you the award for the person who talks the most stuff but has the least stuff to back it up. I refuse to accept this award, by the way, but even then you would still not be as far away from the news as this is. But this is PRX.