TAMPA, Fla. — The women’s Final Four is a tourism draw for the City of Tampa and surrounding areas, but this year it isn’t just local businesses benefiting from the big weekend.
At New Tampa’s Family YMCA, 10-year-old Gabriella Woulard will be watching the games closely.
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She has been playing basketball since she was six, and someday hopes to get a college scholarship to continue the game she loves.
“I want to get a basketball scholarship, so an athletes scholarship so it pays off for college and so just out there having fun playing basketball,” Woulard said.
She practices basketball up to four days a week with her father Paul, who coaches her coed basketball team at the Y.
He says seeing women’s college basketball players gives young girls hope they could someday take center court for big games.
“We see the same kids here, multiple days a week, playing basketball, involved in basketball,” Paul Woulard said. “I think it’s just a positive thing to see the kids off the phones and off the video games.”
The Final Four Semi-Finals get underway Friday, with gates at Amalie Arena opening at 5:30pm.
The championship game will happen at Amalie Arena Sunday afternoon.
