Inductees

It all started on a dirt basketball court in front of her grandparents’ house in Hartsburg, a rural community of about 100 folks south of Columbia. That’s where she’ll never forget the uncle who taught her the game.

Joyce Arnsmeyer Gillsespie beams about it all these years later.

“When I was about 10 years old, he kind of took me under his wing and taught me everything I needed to know about basketball,” she said of Uncle Augie Begemann.

Within the decade, Gillespie soared to among the best high school basketball players in the state and her legacy has stood the test of time. That is why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted Gillespie with the Class of 2021.

A standout at Southern Boone High School in nearby Ashland, she scored 3,038 points between 1963 and 1966. That total stood as the state’s best until 1991, and it still ranks No. 9 all-time. She also holds the state record for scoring average (33.73 ppg).

Of course, that was long before the 3-point line, with girls teams back then playing 6-on-6, or 3-on-3 in a half-court set.

Along the way, she had a 72-point game along with two 61-point games. She also scored more than 50 points eight times and scored more than 40 points twice.

In other words, she was among the state’s first go-to players.

“Every time I played (in the neighborhood), I was the only girl. I played with all boys growing up,” Gillespie said.

Her uncle preached determination and courage.

“If you set your mind to it,” she said, “you would probably be able to get it done.”

At Southern Boone, the teams were more advanced than others. The girls had home and road jerseys – hers was No. 45, which has since been retired by the school – but practices were limited to only one hour during the physical education class.

When she arrived as a freshman, she couldn’t believe it.

“I was kind of in awe. I was used to an old leather ball, and I had never played on a hardwood floor,” she said.

Her success as a 5-foot-9 forward, she emphasized, was because of teammates.

“I managed to come up with a 6- to 8-foot jump shot that worked pretty well,” Gillespie said. “Of course, I didn’t have any problems under the basket.”

Coach Don Jones put the team in position to have success.

“He was very quiet-spoken,” Gillespie said. “He would tell us, ‘This is what I want you to do.’ You never heard him yell.”

In the 1966 season alone, Gillespie scored 994 points, which held up as the state record until 1990 and remains sixth-best all-time.

Additionally, she converted 1,207 field goals, 624 free throws and attempted 991 free throws for her career. In order, those were state records until 2011, 2002 and 1969 – with her free throws now No. 4 in state history.

The 72-point game was against Renick.

“Renick always had a tough team. We knew we were going to have a fight on our hands,” Gillespie said. “As far as scoring 72 points, I didn’t know when the game was going on. We had other great scorers. It just happened to be my night.”

Unfortunately, MSHSAA didn’t offer a postseason tournament for girls teams until 1973. And most colleges didn’t offer the sport until after passage of federal Title IX legislation in 1972.

Still, Gillespie caught the eyes of a coach of an AAU team, and so she played the 1967 season with a national travel squad called the Raytown Piperettes – and helped them to a third-place finish in the national tournament.

With the Piperettes, Gillespie had the opportunity to experience what would eventually become a staple of NCAA Division I basketball – travel across the country, against some elite competition. At one point, the team was matched against the Soviet Union in exhibitions in Jefferson City and St. Joseph.

After her playing days, she worked for the University of Missouri-Columbia for many years and retired in 2008 from the Diabetes and Endocrinology Center as an Administrative Assistant.

She and her husband, Victor, have made their home in Fulton and raised son Darrin and daughter Kelly, and are proud grandparents of Douglas and Casey Cramer.

“I’m just kind of amazed that my basketball career happened at all,” Gillespie said. “But it seems like it was just yesterday.”