[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 93 (Friday, June 21, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6670-S6671]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    SALUTE TO IOWA GIRLS' BASKETBALL

 Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, every year in March, the State of 
Iowa comes to a virtual halt. Streets are quiet, schools are dismissed, 
and small towns are all but deserted. It is not some end-of-winter 
blizzard that clears the streets and shuts down communities. It is the 
annual pilgrimage to Veterans' Auditorium in Des Moines for the Girls' 
State Basketball Tournament.
  Some States have a such strong tradition in high school athletics 
that certain sports become part of the State's identity. Like boys' 
basketball in Indiana and football in Texas, girls' basketball has been 
a key factor in shaping the identity of Iowa. The enthusiasm with which 
Iowans follow their girls' high school basketball teams is a testament 
to Iowa's competitive and community spirits.
  Iowa was a pioneer in the growth of girls' basketball. Today's 
players owe a great deal to those early players and teams for the 
survival and development of the girls' game. Iowa girls started playing 
basketball in 1893, just 18 months after Dr. James Naismith created the 
game. Girls' basketball gained rapid approval from Iowans. By the turn 
of the century, basketball was the most popular sport for girls in 
Iowa. The sport was played indoors and outdoors, in church basements 
and on empty cattle pastures, wherever there was room to fit two 
basketball goals.
  The popularity of girls' basketball in Iowa may have helped save the 
sport from extinction. In the 1920's, women and girls were discouraged 
from playing competitive sports because it was seen as too strenuous 
and unladylike. Girls' basketball virtually vanished from the rest of 
the country. But Iowans took great pride in the success of their girls' 
basketball teams. Communities banded together to support girls' 
basketball, and the sport remained as popular as ever in Iowa. In the 
1970's and 1980's, Iowa's basketball success was used as a model for 
other States in expanding sports opportunities for girls.
  Iowa's State tournament was first staged in 1920. It is the oldest 
continuously held girls' basketball championship in the United States. 
The State tournament has consistently been played before capacity 
crowds, drawing fans from all corners of Iowa. The tournament has 
developed a national and even international following. News media from 
across the State and around the country gather in Des

[[Page S6671]]

Moines to cover the girls' tournament. In 1990, the tournament even 
attracted a film crew from Japan. The television contract for the Iowa 
girls' basketball tournament is the largest for any girls' or boys' 
high school sport in America.
  From 1920 through 1984, Iowa high school girls exclusively played the 
six-on-six version of basketball. The six-on-six girls' game was such 
an important part of Iowa culture that national newspapers, television 
stations, and magazines rushed to Iowa in 1993 to cover the final six-
on-six tournament. Iowa girls now play the common five-on-five style of 
basketball, and Iowans still flock to see their daughters and sisters 
compete annually for the State championship.
  Whether they were trained in the five-on-five or six-on-six game, 
Iowans have had a national impact on girls' basketball. This success 
has continued beyond the high school level. Since 1935, more than 100 
Iowans have been named to the Amateur Athletic Union or Collegiate All-
American women's basketball teams. Some of the country's most notable 
girls' and women's basketball players have come from Iowa. Denise Long 
of Union-Whitten High School set the national high school scoring 
record in 1969 with more than 6,000 career points. Lynne Lorenzen of 
Ventura broke that same record in 1987 by scoring over 6,700 points. At 
the college level, Molly Goodenbauer of Waterloo led Stanford 
University to the 1992 national championship, and was chosen Most 
Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament. And Karen Jennings of Neola 
Tri-Center High School was named National Player of the Year at the 
University of Nebraska in 1993.
  Girls' basketball has been a source of community pride and honor in 
Iowa for more than 100 years, from small towns like Mediapolis and 
Auburn, to the cities of Cedar Rapids and Des Moines. The sport has 
become an expression of Iowa's qualities of competitiveness, teamwork, 
and determination. But above all else, girls' basketball has allowed 
the State to showcase one of its most precious resources--the young 
women of Iowa.

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