Harrison County Girls' Basketball Made Headlines:

By Thelma Taylor

"Girls from the Harrison County hills have enough trophies to make the trophy case look like a display window at a jewelry store," said the Cincinnati Enquirer.

"Anyone who says girls' basketball games aren't interesting after seeing those games in the tournament simply doesn't appreciate good basketball," said UK Boys' Basketball Coach Adolph Rupp after attending his first girls' high school tournament in March, 1930.

The first Harrison County basketball team to play in a district tournament was a girls' team. The tournament was held at Millersburg in the fall of 1924. Richard Jacobs was the coach of the Buena Vista Cardinals. They played Paris in the morning and won. They played Georgetown in the afternoon and lost 30-6 on the first day of the tournament. Their chaperone, Ruth Dorsie, designed the red poplin uniforms and the mothers of team members made the outfits.

Harrison County girls played on dirt courts in all kinds of weather with one basketball until it was worn out. Girls’ basketball rules were the same as boys'. There was a center jump after each score and there was one referee to a game. Admission to the games was 15 and 25 cents. Transportation was donated by the coach.

Laura Belle Stephens Palmer said that Sharp Platt had a general store at Buena Vista. Every time the girls won a game, Platt would give them a nickel candy bar. "This meant a lot to us," she said. "We didn't have a nickel to spend on candy very often."

The Oddville Kittens claimed that they put Harrison County on the map with their excellent playing. They were the girls team from the smallest school to win in the state tournament each time they played. Oddville school was smaller than a single class of some of the schools they played.

In three years they accumulated 3,049 points to their opponents 793 points. Mary VanHook of Oddville made more than 400 points in one season. Teammates said that Mary made baskets with such ease that it was breathtaking to behold. During one tournament game, Mary hesitated at the center line. The crowd yelled, "Shoot, shoot!" She did and the ball dropped into the basket as if guided by a magnet. The crowd went wild.

Newspaper headlines for the 1927-28 tournament to the 1930-31 games started out: Ashland is Favorite; Georgetown is Wonder Team; Ashland, Georgetown Oddville are Favorites; Oddville is Favorite in State Tournament; Unbeaten Wonder Team is Victorious; Alice VanHook is Best Guard in State and Mary VanHook Top Center.

Was training strict? Did the girls stick to the training rules?

Coach A. B. Arnold would preach about what to eat but the girls forgot what he said when they got home. Mary VanHook loved to tell about the time they found a whole ham and a chocolate pie cooling on the back porch. They ate all the ham they wanted and half the pie. Mary declared they never played better basketball.

Mary VanHook, the fabulous center, got plenty sleep, but her sister, Alice, said she wasn’t nearly as dedicated to the game. She went to have a good time. They stayed at the LaFayette Hotel in Lexington during state tournaments. While Mary slept, her team mates made dates for her. The boys always went to the appointed place to meet their celebrity date and always got stood up. Mary never knew what was happening.

The girls loved the way they were treated in Lexington and the reception they got when they returned home as heroes. No Harrison County girls basketball team has come close to acclaim that the 1924 to 1934 teams garnered.

Other atricles about Harrison County and Harrison Countians.