HEBRON

HEBRON HIGH SCHOOL

GIRLS VARSITY BASKETBALL

HISTORY

The September 13, 1917 Hebron Herald reported that boys and girls basketball teams were organized

and within five weeks would be ready for games. Later editions of the paper gave boys results but no girls

scores were ever reported, or the mention of the team still being together.

The November 26, 1920 Lake County Star reported the following: "The LaCrosse girls basketball team

motored to Hebron Saturday night and played the Hebron girls team. This was the first public game that our

girls have played therefore the score 11-0 in favor of LaCrosse was excusable." The team would play six

total games during 1920-21, winning one. The game against Lowell was tied 0-0 after regulation and it was

decided that the teams were so equal that no extra time would be played. The girls also played the following

season, 1921-22. The highlight was a 28-12 victory over Boone Grove in the season opener. The girls

played five games winning two and losing three. There was no evidence of a team for the next four years.

The next season of girls varsity basketball at Hebron High School was during the 1926-27 school

year. An item in the November 3, 1926 Valparaiso Daily Vidette, stated that "some of the High School

girls are planning on starting a basketball team." A team was formed and the first game was played

on December 10, 1926, against Morgan Twp. The newspaper report of the game was, "The Hebron

girls, making their first appearance, dropped their game to the Morgan township girls. Their showing

looked promising, however." No score was listed. On January 27, 1927 the girls played in their first

Porter County Tourney game. The outcome was the closest of the year, taking Kouts to double overtime,

before losing 10-11. There was no coach's name reported for the first five seasons.

The Porter County Tournament started in 1924. There were five girls teams in the first tourney,

Boone Grove, Crisman, Morgan, Chesterton, and Washington. Wheeler, Valpo, and Kouts joined in 1926,

with Hebron and Liberty added in 1927. In 1931 Kouts and Valpo dropped out of the tourney.

The last tournament was played during the 1935 season, when County officials decided to eliminate the

girls side of the tournament. A portion of an article in the February 28, 1935 Porter County Herald stated,

"Porter County is the only county in Indiana which had a girls basketball tourney in 1935. One reason for

this abandonment was that several of the girls in the tourney were rather worn out after the tourney. A girl

from Washington twp is confined to bed because of such hard playing and all of the excitement."

The Hebron girls played through the 1937-38 school year before discontinuing the team. The

athletes during the years of 1927 through 1938 received varsity letters, making this the first varsity

girls sport at Hebron High School. During these early years the girls played with six players on the court,

three on offense and three on defense. The players didn't cross over the half court line.

After the elimination of the girls portion of the County Tourney, County officials set up "play days",

where girls from the county would gather and play non competitive games of all kinds. All members of

the Girls Athletic Association (GAA) were able to participate. The GAA would be the only outlet for girls

athletics until the early 1970s.

Title IX was enacted on June 23, 1972. Title IX states, "No person in the United States shall, on the

basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination

under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance." While there is no specific

mention of athletics, that is where the biggest advances in equality have been made.

The Porter County Conference started in the 1958-59 school year as a boys only athletic conference,

sponsoring four sports. The conference added girls basketball and volleyball during the 1973-74 school

year, with track starting a year later. A round robin conference schedule was played along with a

conference tournament. The IHSAA finally started a girls state tournament during the 1975-76 school year,

two years after the Porter County Conference added girls basketball.

The first girls south county tournament was played during the 1980-81 season. The IHSAA divided

the state into four classes before the 1997-98 season. Hebron played at the 1A level in 1998 and 1999, in 2A

in 2000 and 2001, 1A 2002-2007 and has been in 2A since 2008.

The Hebron girls basketball program has enjoyed a lot of success over the years, including: PCC

round robin, PCC tourney, south county, sectional, regional and semi-state championships. The 2001-02

team finished the season as the state runner-up.