Lady Rockets were perfect in 1974

The 1920 Marion girls' basketball team

Crittenden County High School’s first girls’ basketball team was perfect, but the real women’s hoops pioneers didn’t win a single game.

When the Lady Rocket basketball team got off to an 8-0 start this season, The Press reported that it was the best start in school history. Mary Anne Green Kelley, one of the players from 1974’s CCHS basketball team, sent us a message pointing out that her team was even better.

With some research, it was indeed uncovered that the 1973-74 Lady Rockets – the very first county school basketball team for females – started 9-0. In fact, that’s how the team ended the season. It played just nine games that inaugural season, and won all of them. The team was coached by Cindy Almendinger.

Research into the matter also uncovered a long lost story about the first girls’ team in Marion, which dates back to 1920. The team lost all four games it played that season. An excerpt in the yearbook from that school year reads, “This was the first year for the girls of MHS to try their strength in athletics and taking in consideration all of our drawbacks it must be admitted that we brought forth a good team even if it were a losing team. Although we didn’t win a game we felt that the basketball season was a real success for it taught us all how to be goods losers and to play harder when being defeated.”

The attached photograph was taken for the 1920 Marion High School yearbook. These are the first students to form a girls’ high school basketball team in the county. Pictured are (from left) Robbie Fowler, Jessie Elkins, Fannie Moore, Elizabeth Dollar, Leoda McWhirter, Melba Williams, Dollie Enoch, Marie Lowery, Evalyn Moore, Katherine Hughes and coach George Gumbert.