Iowa Girls 6-on-6 Basketball Players Tell Their Stories

Girl’s 6-on-6 basketball in rural Iowa became the glue that cemented generations of women in communities and families, alike. It was not uncommon to have five or six generations of women in the same families that played the game during their high school careers. This segment from Iowa PBS’s More Than a Game: 6-on-6 Basketball in Iowa documentary features first-hand accounts from those that played the game.

Chuck Offenburger, Iowa writer: In Iowa, unlike any other place in the country, I believe, you can have five generations and now possibly six in the same families who the women have all played basketball in high school. The game itself became a glue that cemented generations in families and communities. 

Zola (Emerson) Mullenbach and Vivian (Emerson) DuShane Little Cedar H.S. 1920s and 1930s

Narrator: sisters Vivian DuShane and Zola Mullenbach were part of that glue. They played for Little Cedar High School near the Minnesota border in the 1920s and '30s.
 
Zola (Emerson) Mullenbach: When I wanted to stay and practice shooting baskets, I would ride down. I'd ride my pony down and I'd tie him in the church yard across from the school and then I could stay and practice all by myself.
 
Vivian (Emerson) DuShane: I mean we were stronger girls. I was used to milking cows and working in the field, and I think it made us stronger and probably faster. I know dad was always thought it was great for us girls to be doing, you know. I know he used to put a hoop on the barn and we'd have a little ball, probably just throw it and play like that.
 
Dorcas Anderson Audubon High School, 1920s and her granddaughter Jan Jensen Elk Horn-kimballton High School, 1983-1987
 
Narrator: Sixty years before Jan Jensen was playing for Elk Horn-Kimballton High School in the 1980s, her grandmother was sinking baskets as the star forward on her own team.
 
Jan Jensen, Elk Horn-kimballton High School, 1983-1987: That's probably the coolest thing for me is I got to share that whole experience with my grandmother. Her name was Dorcas Anderson. The most unique aspect is her nickname was lottie because she scored a lot of points. She played in the 1920s for Audubon High School.

Narrator: After high school, Jensen went on to became An All-American at Drake University and today is the associate head coach for the University of Iowa women's basketball team. Jensen's story is shared by many Iowa families.

Jan Jensen, Elk Horn-kimballton High School, 1983-1987: It was fun to hear my grandmother's comparisons. She always loved the competition and the winning, but the hangup she had was we showed too much skin with our uniforms, because she wore the bloomers.

Sandy Van Cleave-Little, Montezuma High School, 1967 to 1971

Narrator: Another family legacy belongs to Sandy Van Cleave, considered by many to be the finest all-around six-on-six player of her time. Van cleave was a member of the Montezuma squad from 1967 through 1971, playing for coach Carroll Rugland. During her high school career, the team won a record 89 straight games and back-to-back state titles. Ironically, when Van Cleave was in grade school, Montezuma had considered dropping the girls' team altogether. Her mother, Mavis, who had played basketball for Gibson High School in the 1930s, wanted her youngest daughter to have the same opportunity.
 
Sandy Van Cleave-Little: She went to the meeting, and the superintendent of the schools said "Mavis, what are you doing here? You have two cheerleaders." She goes, "I hope someday to have a basketball player. I enjoyed it and I hope Sandy will get to play." So I think she saved it. I feel like she maybe did. They kept it going, anyway.