Bassett: Murdered golf pro Sarah Hunter's story to air on '48 Hours'

Sarah Hunter, right, and assistant pro Todd McIntosh are shown in September 1986, just weeks before her murder. (Photo courtesy Todd McIntosh) The true-crime television program "48 Hours" will air the story of Sarah Hunter, a golf professional from Manchester Country Club in Vermont who was abducted and brutally murdered in 1986. Called "Sarah Mattered," the CBS production is scheduled to air Saturday, Nov. 28, at 10 p.m. It will be released on Paramount's streaming services the following day. #womenworthwatchingUSA Today: The 2027 WNBA Draft lottery odds, teams revealedThis column is sponsored by Times Union Women@Work, the Capital Region's network of business and professional women. Join today at: https://womenatworkny.comA year ago, the show's producer, Cindy Cesare, reached out to me to discuss the news reports and columns I've written about Sarah Hunter and the murder case. In my writing, I focused on Hunter's work as a golf professional and the refusal of her friends in the golfing community to let the case die. Last December, nearly four full decades after her death, the man who was a prime suspect in Hunter's murder from the early days of the investigation confessed to her abduction and killing.Ann Waters, who grew up in Bennington and lived in Albany while working for the state, was a member of Manchester Country Club, where she won the Ladies Club Championship a record 20 times. Waters started the Sarah L. Hunter Spring Classic at Manchester the year after her friend's horrific death at the age of 32. It grew into a sold-out, highly competitive two-day tournament held in May that kicked off the golf season for many players from the Capital Region.It was on Dec. 9, 2025, that the long, twisted, unsolved murder investigation finally came to a conclusion. My story on the guilty plea, "Golf pro Sarah Hunter's murder case finds closure after 39 years," is one of the most deeply personal and intense columns I've ever written. I became entwined in the case in many, profound ways. For years I held back on publishing information for fear of influencing the case. After I wrote a 2022 column titled "Murdered golf pro Sarah Hunter's case deserves closure," I was featured on the "Dark Down East" podcast. I also received correspondence from one of his other victims. After I first played in the tournament in 2016, I became interested - and then entrenched - in finding out details about Hunter and the murder case. Four months later, I wrote a detailed account - "Murder of Vermont golf pro Sarah Hunter still drives Capital Region women's support" - published on the front page of the Sunday edition of the Times Union.During the pandemic, I wrote and received an immediate reply from the murderer himself, who was locked in a California prison for another abduction, where he was serving a sentence of 25 years to life.Her murderer read my story. He led me to realize there was a pathway, working with investigators and prosecutors, that could lead him to confess.I anticipate "Sarah Mattered" will be tough to watch. Hopefully, it will also serve as a tribute to the many women in the golf community who never stopped remembering her legacy, which lives on. Scheduling headache for NWSLGrowing pains continue to affect women's professional sports as defending NWSL champion Gotham FC was forced to move its playoff semifinal against the Kansas City Current to a 5,000-seat venue in Queens. The game will be held on Sunday at 3 p.m.The decision came amid concerns about the quality of the playing surface at New Jersey's Sports Illustrated Stadium, Gotham FC's home venue, which has a 25,000-seat soccer capacity. The team's quarterfinal 1-0 win against the Seattle Reign was marred by terrible field conditions. It's a shame this has happened again in the playoffs of a major professional sport. Gotham FC set the New York City women's sports attendance record with a sellout crowd of 42,175 fans at Citi Field during "The Queens Classic" match against the Washington Spirit on July 15. That game was held during the men's World Cup. Some good news: In 2028, Gotham FC will move from New Jersey to Queens and play in the new Etihad Park. The 25,000-seat stadium is being built for MLS' New York City FC, which began play in 2015.Tickets for the NWSL semifinal sold out soon after going on sale to the general public on Wednesday. It should be a terrific matchup to watch in a soccer sports bar near you. Fun fact: the team is sponsoring a $2,000 bar tab and free swag at four bars hosting the game: Berry Park and Soccerria in Brooklyn, Pig Beach in Queens' Astoria neighborhood, and Varitage Brew Works in Bloomfield, N.J.College basketball's fast startWomen's college basketball already features some must-see matchups thanks to tough non-conference games for some of the nation's top teams.The UConn Huskies lost to then-No. 5 Michigan, then faced No. 10 Iowa and No. 20 Ohio State, and play No. 8 Louisville on Sunday. Games against South Carolina, Duke, Notre Dame and LSU are all on the Huskies schedule.This weekend's top game is the battle for the title of The Real SC, with No. 1 South Carolina facing No. 3 USC on Sunday at a neutral site: Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina. The game will be broadcast at 1 p.m. on ABC.Both teams have some fabulous new faces alongside veteran superstars. And USC's JuJu Watkins is back and looking great.Sunday's slate also includes UConn at No. 8 Louisville Cardinals at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN.SubscribeThere’s more to Albany with the Times Union. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at Bassett: Murdered golf pro Sarah Hunter's story to air on '48 Hours'.