yesterday's tennessee

ON TIGERETTE BASKETBALL

Lynn Pratt

December 17, 1980
Henderson County Times
Sports Corner
Lynn Pratt

In the late 50's and early 60's basketball really began to catch on in Lexington and West Tenpesace and all of Tennessee really.

Around 1967 and 1968 when the state tournaments were held in the Jackson Coliseum before it was moved to Murfreesboro permanently, the final night was a complete sellout.

We would like to give you in our opinion some of the finest players to play with the Tigerettes.

I think the three best forwards to play as a group on the team was the team of Jeanetta White Tignor, Linda Anderson Fesmire and Majorie Graves. They went to the state tournament, though we never won they made a good showing.

They had to compete against great teams such as Waller, Porter and Loretta. These were great teams year in and year out.

Some of the other fine players were would like to include are Gay Lewis Reeves, Betty Hatchett, Carol Davis, Janis Garner, Peggy Hester Azblll, Patricia Anderson McCay, Sandra McKee and Voncille Fesmire.

We think these are probably the greatest players the Tigerettes ever had but Truman Lewis, Jr. challenged my opinion and stated that the greatest team was the 1940-41 team that consist of Orene Wilkerson Hemby, Jaunita Parsons Helms, Beatrice Little, Faye Washam, Mildred Young and Sue Washam Anderson.

I think in the past two years that girls basketball has gone backwards since they play with five players and play the length of the court. I do not know who came up the stupid idea that women should go up and down the court like men. But It was much more exciting when they played the half-court game and when they have to go the full length of the court the game gets draggy and I personally think this has hurt girls basketball. But time will tell and we will see.

Photograph from Emily Davis and Brenda Kirk Fiddler, Henderson County, Tennessee: A Pictorial History (Rose Publishing Co., Humboldt, Tennessee, 1996).