Louisburg residents to compete in National Granny Basketball Tournament

By Andy Brown
- Tweet
- Pin It
Updated: July 28, 2022

Submitted Photo

Louisburg residents (from left) Ellen Moreland, Jean Carder and Janet York are among local players who will compete at the National Granny Basketball Tournament.

Miami County’s Granny Basketball players will be competing in the league’s national championship this weekend at the Hy-Vee Arena in Kansas City, Mo.

Nine players from the Louisburg Tonics team will be joined by four players from the Wichita Aerobelles to
play as the Kansas Cougars in the 1920s-style basketball known as Granny Basketball. The tournament, which runs July 30-31 at the Hy-Vee Arena, will feature nearly 250 players ages 50 to 90 playing on 20 different teams.

The Cougars will play in pool play Saturday at 10:15 a.m., 1 and 3:30 p.m. Bracket play, based on seeding from the pool games, is on Sunday.

Representing the Tonics on the travel team are Becky Bowes, Janet York, Diana Moore, Ellen Morland, LaVonne Mize, Julie McKinley, Jayne Schommer, Helen McClain and Jean Carder.

The team to watch is the defending champion of the national tournament, the Harpers Ferry Fireflies hailing from a small town in northeast Iowa. Players travel from Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas, Louisiana, and Wisconsin to test their skills in a 6-on-6 style of game that women played a century ago.

Fans are invited to come watch their local favorites. The $5 admission fee at the door will benefit Noah’s Bandage Project, as will donations generated through fun granny shot activities for players, volunteers and spectators. Noah’s Bandage Project also will be accepting donations of colorful, self-adhesive bandages for children with cancer.

The Granny Basketball League is a non-profit Iowa-based organization founded in 2005. Currently, 41 Granny Basketball teams are active in 10 states: Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin and most recently, California.

Granny Basketball was created to provide women of a certain age a gentler form of the game, reminiscent of the 6-on-6 game that was played by young women a century ago.