Inductees

In late fall of 1976, one year after their high school first fielded a girls basketball team, a group of girls gathered in the Hickman Mills High School gymnasium for the launch of a new season.

You could say confidence was high. After all, a majority had played AAU basketball in recent summers, or had played against guys in pick-up games. Scared? Yeah, right.

“So we all knew each other well, were a strong cohesive group, we trusted each other and were passionate about winning,” Carol Hudgins said. “We all continued to play in the high school offseason on our AAU team, so we always stayed in good physical condition and kept our ‘edge’ together as a team!”

That team launched quite a stretch. In fact, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct the 1977-1980 era of Hickman Mills High School Girls Basketball with the Class of 2024.

One year after passage of federal Title IX legislation that required public schools to offer sports to girls, MSHSAA hosted a postseason basketball tournament.

Soon, Hickman Mills became one of the first powerhouses. The Cougars won state championships in 1977, 1979 and 1980 while coached by Clyde Cozad.

Overall, the teams in the four years were a combined 105-10.

To understand their roots, consider those AAU summer trips in the mid-1970s thanks to Linda Perz and her father, as well as Coach Asbury, and Coach Gary Flansburg.

“This is the core that Coach Cozad tossed the ball to the very first day he walked into the inaugural practice,” Kathleen Kunkler said. “The other thing that happened was ‘lightning in the bottle’ from our very first game.”

In that game, Hickman Mills routed rival Ruskin, scoring 100 points to avenge the football team’s loss to Ruskin.

A year later, the 1976 season ended prematurely as No. 2 St. Mary’s beat No. 1 Hickman Mills in the state quarterfinals.

And so the Cougars used that for fuel for 1977, which became special. Turned out, the next few years were just that, too.

The 1977 team finished 26-1 after beating Bishop DeBourg 40-34 in the finals. All five starters went on to play in college – Dorris Woolery at Harvard University, Kunkler at William Woods College, Hudgins at Iowa State, and Barb Gudde and Stephanie Miller at Missouri Western State University.

That team beat Lindbergh by a single point in the semifinals, after scoring a 35-33 victory against Truman High School in the regional final.

The 1978 team reached the regional finals, and the 1979 team built on that team’s success.

The 1979 Cougars beat Lee’s Summit 50-40 to win it all and logged a 27-2 record. Laura Williams, Carol Bates and Carrie Bates Brown were all-conference selections, with Williams and Carrie Brown earning All-State.

“The girls basketball games completely filled up the gym, and it was a big gym with bleachers on both sides of the courts,” Woolery said. “It was exciting and helped create a sense of pride and community at the school, which again was brand new and built to handle overcrowding at Ruskin High School.”

The 1980 team rallied from a 20-point, second-half deficit to beat McCluer North 50-48 in the championship game and finished 27-4. Carrie Brown, Brenda Howell and Karnie Wilkie were all-conference, with Bates and Howell All-State.

“We all got along so well,” Carrie Brown said. “When not at school, practice, or games, we were together.”

An assistant coach from 1977, Greg Harnden, made clear that the toughness of those teams defined Hickman Mills in that era.

“As far as the 1977 team, we were so blessed to be handed a group of girls that had a background in the boys version of AAU basketball, and they were very advanced in their basketball skills and knowledge compared to other competing schools,” Harnden said.

As Miller put it, “We would play pickup games not only with our rival (St. Mary’s), but, also played with the guys (knowing that would make us much better).”

Mitzi Curtwright Cooney, who was part of the 1979 state championship team, said the older players were a great influence. In essence, they gave them the mental strength to compete in close games.

“The young players saw what it took to win and tried to follow in the upperclassmen’s footsteps,” Cooney said. “Players knew their roles and meshed pretty well. We knew our big girls were going to get rebounds and points, so we fed them as much as we could.”

What a run it was.