Nice story on Iowa girl's basketball legend Denise Long
- Thread starter NevadaHawk
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Wow!! I grew up when 6 on 6 was the thing for the girls. I don't remember it being better or more exciting than the 5 on 5 game but I was more interested in the girls and was pretty clueless. Ah, how little has changed.
"Union-Whitten lost the title Long’s senior year, but she averaged 69.6 points per game, scored 100 points three times, including 111 points against Dows."
Absurdly good. She was simply unstoppable.
Absurdly good. She was simply unstoppable.
I seem to remember another great shooter who was nicknamed "Machine Gun Molly" I can't recall Molly's last name. I think she was from Madrid or some other small Iowa town.
Fonda Dix? I mean seriously, what were her parents thinking?!!!!!
Fonda Dicks from Moravia. There was an urban myth circulating that she married a guy named Peters but that is totally false. She lives in Central IA last I knew.
"Machine Gun Molly" Bolin (Van Benthuysen in HS) but more widely known by her married name as a star in the infancy of the Women's Professional Basketball League. She was actually on the cover with Larry Bird on Sports Illustrated.
Also from Moravia ironically.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molly_Bolin
I remember that Union Whitten-Dows game all too well. The mens team always had to watch the girls until it was time to go to the lockeroom to dress for our game. Talk about a downer. We wanted out of the gym long before halftime of that game. Not much of a motivator for us.
Denise Long is from my home town, but my parent's age. She would have done well in 5x5 basketball as well.
Union-Whitten played a very fast paced 6x6 game. Zero stalling and they ran up the score. I have their '68 title game on DVD and it is still pretty fun to watch.
Union-Whitten played a very fast paced 6x6 game. Zero stalling and they ran up the score. I have their '68 title game on DVD and it is still pretty fun to watch.
I remember her appearance on the Johnny Carson show. She handled herself on the show very well.
I was on the Pep Bus to the Dows game and witnessed the historic game by Denise. It was a pretty big deal for a small town in Iowa.
The 6 on 6 game was really pretty special. Certainly the game has evolved for women, but there was a very special affinity in the this sport in Iowa and Oklahoma also (I believe).
Denise and the UW team would have done really well in a 5 on 5 format as they had a very good supporting cast to their superstar.
The 6 on 6 game was really pretty special. Certainly the game has evolved for women, but there was a very special affinity in the this sport in Iowa and Oklahoma also (I believe).
Denise and the UW team would have done really well in a 5 on 5 format as they had a very good supporting cast to their superstar.
I can't stand 5 on 5 Women's Basketball, but 6 on 6 was somewhat entertaining anyway. Much better game IMO.
I agree. And so does my mom, who was a very good 6 on 6 player. She wanted to play 5 on 5.
We all have our biases.........loved those days of IOWA
Girls BB 6 v 6. When Union Whitten offered girls basketball, but the
Big schools, like CR Wash, Des Moines Hoover etc did not.
I would agree. Not all of the 6x6 was good....then again I have seen plenty of terrible girls 5x5 as well.
Speaking of the metro schools. Some of them didnt offer girl sports until the late 60's/early 70's. Pretty crazy to think my grandma played girls basketball for her high school in the mid/late 20's.....and she played for a town of less than 3000. Why it took 30-40 years later for some of the big metro schools to offer girls sports is crazy.
Speaking of the metro schools. Some of them didnt offer girl sports until the late 60's/early 70's. Pretty crazy to think my grandma played girls basketball for her high school in the mid/late 20's.....and she played for a town of less than 3000. Why it took 30-40 years later for some of the big metro schools to offer girls sports is crazy.
I loved it because the small towns dominated the sport.
At the time of the professional league that Molly Bolin played in, I attended some games. I came away thinking the women were not skilled enough to play the 5 on 5 game. These were the best players in the country and it was hard to watch. But time has changed everything. The women today are much more skilled. I love watching the college women. I might like the WNBA, but I haven't really had much of a chance to watch it.
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It's female basketball, "quality of play" is and always will be a factor. That's why 6 on 6 was more appealing to me.
We had a gal way back in the day that played with us in our local YMCA, who was bigger bodied, skilled, and could hang with the boys there, but she wasn't even close to the best player on either team of 5 on any given day in a NW Iowa gym.
Her name was Connie Kunzmann (R.I.P.). She played H.S. ball at Everly, College ball at Wayne State and Professional ball for the Nebraska Wranglers. She was murdered by her then boyfriend I believe, at age 24 in Omaha while playing for the Wranglers, which I believe was part of the first Women's Professional league.
God bless the gals that play basketball and those that like to watch them, to each his own, but I can't and won't watch 5 on 5 Women's basketball, and I've tried. Can't do it.
Back in spring of ‘73 in the 9th grade, the second year of 6x6 girls basketball at Northwest Jr. High a game was played between the girl’s team and the boy’s team using the 6x6 rules. It was handicapped that the boy’s team couldn’t play more than two of the starting 5 (1 guard and 1 forward). It took the boys most the first half of 8-minute quarters remembering what they could and couldn’t do. The second half was different and the boy’s team beat them bad.
Was the boyfriend arrested and put on trial? Did Connie and her family get justice for her murder?
I believe so. I'm pretty certain she is buried in a cemetery just south of Everly.
Google her and you will find numerous articles about it I'm sure. Believe that was1981 or thereabouts.
On a similar sad tale, around that same time (early 80's I think) a young man from Storm Lake met a similar fate, and in Omaha as well. I believe he was an All-State Pitcher and maybe QB too. Name was Bob Chopski (sp?). Quite the character to boot. Just weird knowing 2 people from NW Iowa, both really good athletes and both get murdered in Omaha, and I believe both bodies dumped in the Missouri River. Terrible stuff.
Was murdered by an acquaintance she had met once before...but other than that, amazing recall.
http://www.thedarksideofamerica.com/tibke-lance-ne.html
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I don't know all the circumstances concerning the trial but 9 years doesn't seem near enough to me.
Thanks for sharing that story Legend. Very grim stuff to be sure but appreciate getting a clearer story of what happened to Connie. Shocking to say the least.
When the teams weren’t very good it did indeed suck. But with two good teams it was exciting as hell. That didn’t happen very often. But when you consider that they played eight minute quarters and the ball was taken back to mid court after every score, it’s nctrdibke to realize teams sometimes scored over 100 points. Also, although there was no three point line, the basketball was the same one used by men, unlike today.
Not sure when they changed the ball but it was small for 6-6 when I was in school.
imo Lynne lorenzen was the best to play 6-6. Close to 7,000 points.
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