Around Des Moines

(Des Moines, IA, March 27, 2008) The Hot Pink Grannies defeated Lighten Up Iowa 20-14 in a Granny Basketball exhibition game at the Central Campus gym. In post-game commentary, Granny Forward Jewell Chapman said, “I feel like we had a lot of fun.”

Chapman scored the first goal of the game and the Grannies led at halftime 14-6. Lighten Up Iowa had taller players but the Hot Pink Grannies had more experience moving the ball as a team. The Iowa team was so new that when the announcer asked if the players were ready to take the court, the captain said, we “haven’t put [the team] together yet.” Helping round out the team of state employees, including some from the Department of Public Health, were members of the Motorcycle Grannies team from Indianola. In the second half, the Iowa team was helped by members of the Wild Wild West Des Moines Grannies.

The Grannies showed their sneaky sides as they managed to move the ball around the Iowa men who just stood and looked down at some of the more diminutive players in this game of six-on-six basketball played under 1920’s rules. In the exhibition game it sometimes seemed as though this was a preview for the Harlem Globetrotters’ appearance at Wells Fargo Arena on March 30th. The ball bounced off knees and shoulders and at one time was kicked by a Granny. With all the player substitutions, confusion sometimes was unavoidable. At the start of the second half a temporary Iowan found herself with the ball and wondering, “who’s my team?” When she realized the player to whom she passed the ball was not on her team she simply said, “oh, no!”

Granny Basketball games last 32 minutes and are divided up into 4 quarters of 8 minutes each. No running or jumping is allowed and only 2 dribbles are permitted. Unlike the Globetrotters, the Grannies pay for their own uniforms, court time, and travel. Like the Globetrotters, they use their appearances to help raise money for charity.

The Hot Pink Grannies vs. Lighten Up Iowa game brought in donations to help out lower income senior citizens with some of their expenses. Last year’s match raised money for a basketball court in Ghana. Patrick Choquette, the son of a state employee, was serving in the Peace Corps and thought the school where he taught chemistry, biology, and physics needed basketball in addition to the soccer and volleyball they already played. At this year’s game, Choquette, who now works for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, gave a brief report on the Ghana court. The schools’ students all pitched in to help construct it.

Twelve Granny Basketball teams will play 6 games in Alburton on Saturday, March 29th. The first game starts at 9:00 a.m.; the last one at 3:15 p.m.. The league has expanded and now includes teams in Illinois, Louisiana, and Minnesota. If your organization is looking for a fundraiser, the Grannies would like you to call.

M.R. Field had to catch some basketball action after missing the NCAA games.