By Dave Dyer

Staff Writer

Scarborough resident Cynthia Bona has blazed a trail in the game of basketball, both on the court and off.

Bona will participate in the National Senior Games, which will be held in San Francisco in August, which offers competition in 18 different events for athletes over the age of 50.

Bona will participate in a basketball tournament with her team, “Triple Threat,” which will play in the 50 to 54 age bracket. This will be Bona’s second time at the National Senior Games, as she participated in the games two years ago in the same event when they were held in Louisville, Ky.

“It’s very competitive,” Bona said. “My daughter, when she first saw me play, I said ‘What do you think?’ She said ‘You guys are really playing to win.’ She was amazed.”

Bona is not only setting a trend playing in National Senior Games basketball. Years ago, she became the first female at her college to play on the varsity basketball team, with men.

Bona said her trek into the sport began in 1970, as an eighth grade student in Livermore Falls. She said at the time, sports were only offered to girls at the high school level.

“I always loved sports of any kind,” Bona said. “There wasn’t sports for any girls, so I was a cheerleader.”

Bona said the varsity girls’ basketball coach held tryouts for eighth grade students to see what kind of talent he had coming up for the next season. Bona said she didn’t have much experience with basketball, but had the size (she was 5’8” at the time) and competitiveness to play. 

Bona said the coach saw her potential and asked her to tryout for the team in the fall. She made the team and started her freshman year. Livermore Falls would have success during Bona’s time with the team, including a conference championship. 

However, not everyone was excited about Bona playing sports. She said her mother was not a fan of her playing basketball, as she thought it was “too tomboyish.”

“My mother was never supportive,” Bona said. “But I was like ‘Too bad.’ She never came to my games.”

Bona said on her 18th birthday, in the last game of her senior year, her mother showed up to watch to her play.

“She was like, ‘Wow, I’m impressed,” she said.

After graduating, Bona said she decided to attend Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, N.Y. to major in fashion design. However, she noticed the school did not have a girls’ basketball team. She said she found a sign posted at school for a basketball meeting one evening, and decided to go, not knowing it would be all men attending the meeting, with her being the only female.

Bona said the coach, Tony Missere, asked if she was interested in playing on the team, which she said she was, if it were possible to play. 

She said because of the passing of Title 9, legislation banning discrimination in both education and athletics, she was able to play for the team. However, Bona said she was not prepared for the swarm of reporters who wanted to document her career on national news.

“It was really hard,” Bona said. “It was totally unexpected, number one. It was everyday, every practice. The school had to actually give me someone from public relations.”

Bona said her family was unaware of her playing college basketball until they turned on their television one day.

“They found out by watching Walter Cronkite on the six o’clock news,” she said.

Bona said she played through the entire season, gaining the respect of her teammates. She decided when the season was over  to stop playing basketball and focus on fashion design.

“I was always a good student and liked As,” Bona said. “When I saw Bs, I kind of weighed the odds, because I couldn’t play underneath because I wasn’t 6’10” and I couldn’t play guard.”

Even though Bona’s career was over, she didn’t stop playing basketball. She kept up her skills by playing at open gyms wherever and whenever she could. More than three years ago, Bona caught wind of a senior womens’ basketball league and decided to join, and has kept playing ever since. In 2007 she played in her first National Senior Games when it was held in Louisville.

“It was amazing to see all those athletes still passionate about the sport,” Bona said. “They have giveaways, parades of athletes. It’s a very special event.”

Bona said two other teams from Maine will compete in the basketball tournament during the games, including the Flashes, a team comprised of women ages 55 to 59, as well as the Pioneers, which is an over-60 team.

Bona said she wants to keep playing basketball for a long time.

“As long as I can,” she said. 

Staff writer Dave Dyer can be reached at 282-4337 ext. 219