History has a funny way of repeating itself.
By now, you’re well aware that the Warsaw girls basketball team is going to take the court at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday to play for the state championship. It will be the final game of what is the 50th state tournament for girls basketball in the state of Indiana’s history.
Fifty years ago, the 1976 Lady Tiger team was in the exact same spot, as they’d go on to win the first ever IHSAA girls basketball tournament, capping things off with a 57-52 victory over Bloomfield at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The following is the story of that team and how they pioneered girls basketball in the Hooiser state.
Before girls basketball, and any other sport for that matter, were recognized as an IHSAA sport, girls competed in the GAA, or the Girls Athletic Association. It was similar to an intramural league, where girls would show up one night a week and play a variety of different sports, such as basketball, volleyball, kickball and more. It was open to any girls that wanted to play.
According to Indiana’s first ever Ms. Basketball Judi Warren, the Warsaw community had a large advantage over the other teams they’d eventually play long before they got to high school.
“We were kind of ahead of everyone else in the state because we had opportunities to play in elementary leagues at a young age,” Warren said. “I was from Claypool so we’d play Leesburg, Washington and Madison. To have that for girls was not common.”
In 1972, Title IX was implemented, banning sex-based discrimination in any school or education program. This required the IHSAA to include girls sports and tournaments. Slowly but surely, girls sports started being added, beginning with track. It wasn’t until 1976, Warren’s senior year, that girls basketball would become an official sport.
“We were all in once we found out. We wanted to play, and we wanted to win,” sophomore Chanda Kline said. “It wasn’t an option for us. We were going to find a way to win.”
But just because it was recognized as an official sport, didn’t mean the teams were always treated as such. The girls teams were not provided with shoes or warm ups, and if they wanted to practice at Warsaw’s main gym, they’d often have to wait for the varsity, junior varsity and freshman boys teams to get done first.
“I always thought that gave us an advantage,” head coach Janice Soyez said. “We didn’t want to be at the school until nine o’clock so we’d go over to the old high school gym, or to Claypool, or any other gym we could find to practice. It gave us the knowledge that we could play here, there, anywhere.”
Play anywhere they could, as the team played an incredibly entertaining, fast-paced style of basketball.
“We were runners. We lived off the fast breaks, we lived off of the pressing that we did,” fellow senior Cathy Folk said.
“We were kind of freelancers out there,” Kline added. “We didn’t really draw up any plays. It was grab the rebound, throw it up ahead to Judi and the guards and score.”
Even with the wins continuing to stack up and the team continuing to dominate their competition, the support was still slim in the early days, with maybe 40-50 fans showing up to the games. That didn’t help the girls in their fight to get equal time to the boys teams.
“We were told that until we were able to fill the gym, this is how it was going to be,” Warren said.
The Lady Tigers did have their fair share of supporters, including IHSAA Director of Girls Sports Pat Roy, who Warren credited as being a huge advocate for not only Warsaw, but girls basketball in general, often battling her colleagues at the IHSAA who initially did not want to sanction it as a sport. Another was the legendary Rita Price-Simpson, who gave the girls incredibly valuable time on the radio.
“At the end of the day, we were playing basketball. That’s all we ever wanted to do,” Folk said.
After an undefeated regular season, Warsaw entered sectional play, where it got through relatively easily. The Lady Tigers did struggle in one game, playing against longtime rival Tippecanoe Valley. The Lady Vikings employed an entirely different strategy from Warsaw, wanting to hold onto the ball and stall for as long as possible, preventing the eventual champs from running and gunning like they were used to.
“They played a four corner stall for almost the entirety of the game. Once we got the ball we wanted to score quickly because we didn’t know when we’d get it again. So we probably weren’t taking the best shots,” Warren said “They had a great player in Cathy Welch. She fouled out in the fourth quarter and that’s kind of where we were able to separate.”
Next stop for the team was at the Goshen regional, which sticks out in the mind of Folk.
“We got roughed up a bit in that game. We played a very physical team, but we could be physical too,” she said. “If they wanted to play that type of game we were going to play that type of game.”
Another win in the semi-state round put the girls in the first ever state finals at Hinkle. As the games continued to grow in importance the number of fans in the stands began to grow as well. After the team defeated East Chicago Roosevelt in the semifinals, they took on Bloomfield in the championship game in front of 9,000 people.
“It was quite a thrill to see the Warsaw community behind us. They just went crazy because we were doing something that hadn’t been done,” Soyez said.
“They all had these orange handkerchiefs they were waving,” Warren said. “Going out onto that court was unbelievable.”
In front of that crowd, the Lady Tigers finished the job they set out to do, winning the first ever state championship. Kline led all scorers in the final four with 45 points in the two games. After the game was over, the team traveled all the way back to Warsaw and were greeted by a full gym for a pep rally.
“We got back at around midnight. People were honking horns as we rode in,” Warren said. “Coach Tallman got to the microphone and says ‘girls, I can see you can fill the gym, so I guess we’ll have to talk about getting equal time.’”
Warsaw would go on to win a second state title two years later in 1978 with Kline leading the way. Soyez said that while that team was perhaps a bit more refined skillswise, the ‘76 team holds the most special place in her heart.
“We were first,” she said while holding up a single finger. “We’ll always be first. We wanted to do it so badly, and we did it.”
“As a kid, you think it’s really cool. But as time goes on, I still have people that were at that championship game and they tell me how it affected their lives,” Kline added. “You start to get that appreciation for what you accomplished.”
Fifty years later, the team is still feeling that appreciation. At halftime of the 4A title game on Saturday, the 1976 team, as well as the other three teams that played in the final four, will be honored. Still incredibly close to this day, the former Lady Tigers are excited for another opportunity to get together again.
“Unfortunately Cindi Knepper is unable to make it, but everyone else is going to be there, and I think that speaks to how close we are all these years later,” Warren said. “We’re excited for some time to sit together and catch up.”
They’re also extremely excited to see this generation of Warsaw players attempt to bring a championship back home to where it all started. They also had a bit of advice speaking from experience.
“I hope they have fun. Soak it in. Play hard. Grab that rebound you might not think you can get because you never know if that can change the momentum of the game,” Kline said. “Get the loose ball, Intercept a pass. You never know what’s going to ignite your team.”
“Play your game. Stick to what you know,” Folk added. “If someone is having an off night, another one steps up. That’s what worked for us.”
Fifty years after a team of young women wearing orange made history, another group has the same opportunity in front of them. If they can finish the job, there’s a good chance that fifty years from now it will be their story being told.