Lovell girls basketball 1976: finding their footing in a historic first season

When the Lovell High School girls basketball team took the court during the winter of 1976, they were doing more than chasing wins. They were stepping into uncharted territory.

That season marked the first year of sanctioned girls high school basketball in Wyoming, and for Lovell, it was the beginning of a program learning how to exist in a state that was still figuring out what girls basketball could be.

Sue Wilson arrived in Lovell for the 1975-76 school year fresh out of Idaho, beginning her first teaching and coaching job. She had little sense that the season ahead would later be viewed as historic. At the time, her focus was on fundamentals, getting girls to come out for the team and building something that could compete.

“The 1975–76 school year was a new experience for me,” Wilson recalled. “It was an exciting time to coach the girls high school basketball and to be able to compete in the state tournament. I was as thrilled as the players were. I don’t know if it felt historical at the time, but it was awesome.”

Girls basketball itself was still evolving. Just five years earlier, the sport had undergone a major rule change. Prior to 1971, girls played a six-on-six game, with three offensive players and three defensive players confined to half the court and a single rover allowed to play full court. The shift to five-on-five, full-court basketball brought the girls game closer to what fans recognize today, but widespread interscholastic competition was still relatively new.

In Lovell, the girls program faced additional challenges. According to former player Cresta Peterson, who was Cresta Shumway at the time, Wilson initially had a difficult time convincing girls to come out. The Lovell boys basketball program was extremely successful during that era, and for some girls, the comparison felt overwhelming in a basketball-centered community.

Despite that hesitation, a core group committed. By season’s end, Lovell carried 12 players, all of whom traveled to the Class A State Tournament, along with team manager Cindy Cahill. There was enough participation to field several junior varsity games, an important marker for a first-year sanctioned program still finding its footing.

As the season progressed, Lovell proved it could compete with the best teams in Class A. The Bulldogs advanced to the Class A West Regional Tournament in Kemmerer and made a strong run to the championship game. There, Lovell faced the host team and fell in a tight contest, 34-29, finishing second and earning a berth at the state tournament.

Wilson later said the regional final was among the team’s best performances.

“The kids did a super good job during the game,” she said at the time. “We just couldn’t overcome the hometown team and crowd.”

Lovell carried that momentum into the Class A State Tournament in Powell, opening with a convincing 54-41 win over Douglas in the first round. In the semifinals, the Bulldogs ran into Torrington, which entered the tournament with an 18-1 record, falling 60-33. Lovell rebounded in the third-place game but came up just short against Wheatland, 51–44, finishing fourth in the state in Wyoming’s inaugural sanctioned girls season.

Individually, the Bulldogs earned significant recognition. Debbie Powell, wearing No. 10, emerged as Lovell’s leading scorer and postseason leader, averaging double figures during regional play. She was named to the Class A West Regional All-Tournament Team and went on to earn All-State honors, establishing herself as one of Wyoming’s top players in 1976. Brenda Hopkin, No. 33, also earned regional all-tournament recognition, contributing scoring and rebounding throughout the postseason.

Behind the scenes, Wilson was navigating realities that were common for women coaches of the era. She was not paid the same as male coaches, though that changed a year or two later. In a twist she still laughs about, Wilson credits the wrestling coach for helping push that change through.

“The wrestling coach actually fought for me to get a raise,” she said, “mainly because he wanted a raise and figured that wouldn’t happen if I didn’t get one.”

Wilson coached girls basketball for four years, the first two as head coach and the final two as an assistant, while also coaching at the middle school level. Looking back from today’s landscape of women’s basketball, she sees how different the opportunities are for young athletes now.

“I love watching the WNBA,” she said. “With young players like Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers coming in as young role models, it has been exciting. They give young women a dream that could come true. I know several of my girls would have gone pro given the chance.”

The 1976 roster included Susan Beddes, Keela Adey, Cresta Shumway, Brenda Moody, Susan Norton, Colleen Doerr, Sylvia Asay, Susan Hoffman, Tammy Despain, Cindy Bischoff, Brenda Hopkin and Debbie Powell, with Wilson on the sideline and Cahill managing behind the scenes. It was not a large group, but it was a committed one.

For Lovell, the 1976 season was not about banners or championships. It was about proving that girls basketball belonged. In packed gyms, close postseason games and the quiet determination of players who stepped forward when the program was still finding its footing, the Bulldogs helped lay the foundation for everything that followed. Nearly 50 years later, the legacy of that team is still felt every time Lovell girls take the court, no longer wondering whether they belong but knowing that they do.