50 Years of girls basketball to be celebrated on Saturday

A Fan Fest will be held in between sessions from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Entry Pavilion at Gainbridge Fieldhouse and feature interactive games and interviews.

The Indiana High School Athletic Association will celebrate the 50th Annual IHSAA Girls Basketball State Finals on Saturday, March 1, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

To commemorate the historic day, state championship coaches and Indiana Miss Basketballs from the past five decades will be recognized at halftime of the 2A and 3A games, respectively.

In addition, participants from the inaugural state championship game in 1976 will be introduced at halftime of the 4A game. That first championship game saw Warsaw defeat Bloomfield, 57-52 and finish a perfect 22-0 season at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Tigers’ Judi Warren would earn the first mental attitude award after the game and later be named Indiana’s first Miss Basketball that spring.

The other state finalist teams that played at Hinkle that day were Indianapolis Arsenal Technical and East Chicago Roosevelt, who was led by freshman phenom LaTaunya Pollard. Pollard would go on to become a U.S. Olympian and inductee to the National Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.

Both Warren and Pollard will be in attendance on Saturday.

In addition to recognizing the legends of the game at halftime, a Fan Fest will be held in between sessions from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Entry Pavilion at Gainbridge Fieldhouse and feature interactive games and interviews with the greats. Jaclyn Leininger Scott, 2004 Indiana Miss Basketball from Warsaw, and Jessica Rupright, 2012 Miss Basketball from Norwell, will also join Pollard and Warren to name just a few.

This event is free to the public.

An Indiana Fever player(s) is also expected to be in attendance.