Sting, WNBA alums hope Charlotte runs it back on women’s hoops

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (CAROLINA SPORTS LIVE) — Nearly three decades later, WNBA pioneer Kym Hampton still has nightmares about playing in Charlotte.

“Battles,” she smiles. “Oh my god battles.”

Clearly, the Sting left an impression. But as you might have guessed, she wasn’t the only person they affected.

“People are hungry for it,” explained former Sting forward Tracy Reid. “They want the Sting back.”

It’s been 20 years since the Queen City’s first and only WNBA team played its last game, but its memory is alive and well.

Today, fans old and new drove that point home, showing up for an autograph session with Hampton and some former Sting players, just prior to Saturday’s Charlotte Crown game at Bojangles Coliseum.

“It has all the feels,” remarked former Sting Guard, now head coach of UNC-Asheville, Tynesha Lewis. “The opportunity to come back to Charlotte, it’s a great day.”

It was like old times, especially with professional women’s basketball back in the Queen City.

“These women can flat out play,” said Lewis. “These are the type of players you want your kids to see. If you can see it. You can be it.”

It’s as if the Sting walked so the crown could run.

“What we represented back then with the beginning of the league, people wanted to see that,” said Reid. “When people came in, they developed a fan base for a certain group of players. It never left and it never will.”

Over the years, there have been petitions in hopes of getting a movement started. Now with interest in women’s basketball at an all-time high, Hampton believes it could happen.

“The people, the fans in Charlotte, they are off the chart,” said Hampton. 

It’s a throwback, that’s looking to run it back, and now that she doesn’t have to play them, that even sounds good to Hampton.

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