Former players remember ‘experience of a lifetime’

For a select few Iowa girls, the experience of making the state tournament during the 6-on-6 era of girls basketball was one they’ll never forget. They say it’s an experience that probably isn’t very unlike what Nodaway Valley’s girls basketball team is experiencing this week as they prepared and took in their first state tournament appearance as a program.

While this is the first time the Wolverines have made the state tournament, Bridgewater-Fontanelle teams in 1958 and 1981 were each able to reach this point of their season, and the members of that team remember it fondly and also wanted to wish this year’s NV team good luck at state.

Greenfield never made the state tournament prior to the school becoming Nodaway Valley, however it is notable that this marks 50 years since the Tigerettes laced up their sneakers again in girls basketball after an approximately 40-year hiatus from the activity. Members of that 1971 team, who were the first to play in the gym the Wolverines currently play in, also wish this year’s team well at state.

Marilyn Zietlow was a star player on the ‘58 Pantherettes who made it to state. She has resided in Rock Falls, Illinois for many years, where she taught and coached many sports during a long career as an educator. She first heard about Nodaway Valley’s success from her sister, Miriam, who lives in Nebraska.

“The ‘58 team would like to congratulate those girls, coaches, cheerleaders and fans. It’s very special and quite an honor to be going to state,” Zietlow said.

For about two or three years, Zietlow and her teammates were very close to making it to state, which was then held at Veterans Memorial Auditorium. They made it her senior year, beating Orient and Adair in the county tournament; Richland, Orient and Bridgewater to win the sectional tournament; Thayer, St. Marys and Shannon City to win the district tournament and ultimately fell in the opening round at state to Cedar Valley, which was located in Calhoun County, now part of the Southeast Valley school system.

“They closed the school down, closed the town down,” Zietlow said. “Everyone went to Des Moines.”

Lori Fox, who now lives in Greenfield, was a starter on the 1981 Pantherette team. She said her team had an “experience of a lifetime” by making the state tournament. B-F, which was a member of the Little 8 Conference at the time, had to play five teams in order to reach the state tournament. Sectional tournament wins for the team were against Walnut and C&M. They then faced Nishna Valley in Red Oak, Diagonal in Afton and Winfield-Mt. Union in Pleasantville en route to the big dance.

“We had to come from behind in that game,” Fox said, remembering the Winfield-Mt. Union game right before state. “The atmosphere, the people, the support from the community, it hasn’t wavered much in all of these years. Going to state was the experience of a lifetime.”

Fox also wanted to congratulate this year’s NV girls. She notes that this year’s experience for the team and the communities that make up Nodaway Valley led her to get out her scrapbook and reminisce.

“It’s fun to get that out and I know what these girls are going through, what they’re feeling, and the excitement of it,” Fox said. “They’re accomplishing something very few will ever be able to say they’ve accomplished.”

Greenfield had an approximately 40-year hiatus from girls basketball after a serious injury to a player in the 1920s reportedly stopped GHS from offering girls sports. At the prompting of a couple of physical education teachers in the late 1960s, the school and community were convinced girls sports needed to be offered again.

Nancy [Tilk] Acheson was a senior who played on that first team in 1971. The team played all JV teams from other schools in the first year, except for Saydel, which was also starting a team that year. The new gym for the Tigerettes was much larger than the previous gym they played in at the high school on the highway, which was located where the Greenfield Home Store and More is now.

“There were six seniors and I was one of them. The bulk of the team were underclassmen. The two captains were myself and Mary McDermott, who started for the team. My sister [Carole Tilk Hall] started on the freshman team, but within a couple of games, she was probably the number four guard on the team. I was a guard and played with two superb sophomores in the guard court. Mary was a forward.”

Hall said that the first Tigerette team simply didn’t know challenges because they had nothing to compare them to.

“We were probably as excited to get girls basketball as the girls are this year to go to state,” Hall said. “We just played as hard as we could, we worked hard, and the best memories are playing that year with my sister. For the girls this year, everybody’s dream is to go to state. Very few get that chance. I’m wishing the best to the coaches, the players — good luck Tuesday night.”

At least one direct connection a previous team has to this year’s Wolverines is Deb [DeVault] McElfish, who is the great aunt of starting junior guard Maddax DeVault. McElfish played on the 1971 Tigerette team with the Tilk sisters.

“My daughter Paige came close in 2016, now I am so happy my great niece Maddax will live her dreams. The Nodaway Valley girls worked hard and deserve their moment. We’re so proud,” McElfish said. “This historic moment brought me to my old scrapbook to relive many memories.”