TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Jana El Alfy’s parents flew from Cairo to Poland to New York to Tampa to watch their daughter play with UConn for the first time.
They got to see her celebrate a championship with the Huskies.
El Alfy, a 19-year-old starting center, was limited by foul trouble and had two points and two rebounds in UConn’s 82-59 victory over South Carolina on Sunday. The powerful, 6-foot-5 Egyptian played a key role in a semifinal victory over UCLA and should be a major force for Geno Auriemma’s program next season and beyond.
“It’s awesome,” Ehab El Alfy said about his daughter winning a national title. “I’m so happy to watch my daughter live in the final. I’m so proud of her. It’s an amazing moment for me.”
Jana's parents were on the court for the postgame celebration and watched her cut off a piece of the net. She teared up talking about what it meant to have them there. An uncle and cousin also came to see her play.
“It means everything. I’m so happy that they’re here to get to experience this with me,” El Alfy said. “It’s a feeling I never would’ve imagined. Having them here is unexplainable. I know they’re super proud and that’s all I ever wanted.”
Ehab El Alfy and his wife, Dina Gouda, traveled 25 hours to see their daughter play in person in the Final Four. They waited for UConn to make the Elite Eight, hoping to see two games. Jana had six points, eight rebounds and four blocks against UCLA to help the Huskies advance.
UConn fans treated Ehab El Alfy and his wife like celebrities on the concourse of Amalie Arena. They were stopped by several Huskies supporters to pose for selfies.
“This is a wonderful team, wonderful teammates and staff,” Gouda said. “I love all of them. All of them are like sisters, like family. Everywhere I walk, I feel the love and I see how much they love Jana. I’m very proud.”
El Alfy’s love for basketball came from her dad. Ehab El Alfy is the head coach of the Egyptian women’s national team. Jana led the 2023 FIBA U19 World Cup with 21.4 points per game and was fourth in the tournament with 11.0 rebounds per game. She led the 2022 U18 African Championship tournament with 24.0 points and 11.5 rebounds per game, powering Egypt to silver. Jana also competed at the 2021 FIBA U16 African Championship and the 2022 FIBA U17 World Cup.
“From 5 years old, she started playing basketball and she followed me every game,” Ehab Al Alfy said. “She always played (up). I expected her to play at a high level. I’m so happy she’s playing at UConn.”
Jana averaged 5.1 points and 5.2 rebounds in the regular season, coming back from an Achilles tendon injury that forced her to redshirt as a freshman. She joined UConn's women's program in January 2023 and had to overcome adversity before she could make her debut. El Alfy recorded a double-double in her first game against Boston University and became an important part of UConn's 12th national championship team.
“I’m so proud of the person I am today and how far I’ve come,” she said. “I never would’ve imagined being here right now, a kid from Egypt loving the game. It’s hard to process. It’s very emotional. If it wasn’t for Coach and the coaching staff bringing me here all the way from Egypt, it means a lot.”
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South Carolina forward Chloe Kitts (21) is double teamed by UConn forward Sarah Strong (21) and center Jana El Alfy (8) during the second half of the national championship game at the Final Four of the women's NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
UConn center Jana El Alfy (8), forward Ice Brady (25) and guard Morgan Cheli (23) react during the second half of the national championship game against South Carolina at the Final Four of the women's NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
UTICA, N.Y. (AP) — A New York prison guard who failed to intervene as he watched an inmate being beaten to death should be convicted of manslaughter, a prosecutor told a jury Thursday in the final trial of correctional officers whose pummeling, recorded by body-cameras, provoked outrage.
“For seven minutes — seven gut-churning, nauseating, disgusting minutes — he stood in that room close enough to touch him and he did nothing,” special prosecutor William Fitzpatrick told jurors during closing arguments. The jury began deliberating Thursday afternoon.
Former corrections officer Michael Fisher, 55, is charged with second-degree manslaughter in the death of Robert Brooks, who was beaten by guards upon his arrival at Marcy Correctional Facility on the night of Dec. 9, 2024, his agony recorded silently on the guards' body cameras.
Fisher’s attorney, Scott Iseman, said his client entered the infirmary after the beating began and could not have known the extent of his injuries.
Fisher was among 10 guards indicted in February. Three more agreed to plead guilty to reduced charges in return for cooperating with prosecutors. Of the 10 officers indicted in February, six pleaded guilty to manslaughter or lesser charges. Four rejected plea deals. One was convicted of murder, and two were acquitted in the first trial last fall.
Fisher, standing alone, is the last of the guards to face a jury.
The trial closes a chapter in a high-profile case led to reforms in New York's prisons. But advocates say the prisons remain plagued by understaffing and other problems, especially since a wildcat strike by guards last year.
Officials took action amid outrage over the images of the guards beating the 43-year-old Black man in the prison's infirmary. Officers could be seen striking Brooks in the chest with a shoe, lifting him by the neck and dropping him.
Video shown to the jury during closing arguments Thursday indicates Fisher stood by the doorway and didn't intervene.
“Did Michael Fisher recklessly cause the death of Robert Brooks? Of course he did. Not by himself. He had plenty of other helpers,” said Fitzpatrick, the Onondaga County district attorney.
Iseman asked jurors looking at the footage to consider what Fisher could have known at the time “without the benefit of 2020 hindsight.”
“Michael Fisher did not have a rewind button. He did not have the ability to enhance. He did not have the ability to pause. He did not have the ability to get a different perspective of what was happening in the room,” Iseman said.
Even before Brooks' death, critics claimed the prison system was beset by problems that included brutality, overworked staff and inconsistent services. By the time criminal indictments were unsealed in February, the system was reeling from an illegal three-week wildcat strike by corrections officers who were upset over working conditions. Gov. Kathy Hochul deployed National Guard troops to maintain operations. More than 2,000 guards were fired.
Prison deaths during the strike included Messiah Nantwi on March 1 at Mid-State Correctional Facility, which is across the road from the Marcy prison. 10 other guards were indicted in Nantwi's death in April, including two charged with murder.
There are still about 3,000 National Guard members serving the state prison system, according to state officials.
“The absence of staff in critical positions is affecting literally every aspect of prison operations. And I think the experience for incarcerated people is neglect,” Jennifer Scaife, executive director of the Correctional Association of New York, an independent monitoring group, said on the eve of Fisher's trial.
Hochul last month announced a broad reform agreement with lawmakers that includes a requirement that cameras be installed in all facilities and that video recordings related to deaths behind bars be promptly released to state investigators.
The state also lowered the hiring age for correction officers from 21 to 18 years of age.
FILE - This image provided by the New York State Attorney General office shows body camera footage of correction officers beating a handcuffed man, Robert Brooks, at the Marcy Correctional Facility in Oneida County, N.Y., Dec. 9, 2024. (New York State Attorney General office via AP, File)
