Breaking Barriers, Building Legacies: Kelly’s Lady Hawks Celebrate 50 Years

When the announcement for the first girls’ basketball team at Kelly High School was made in 1974, school officials weren’t sure what the response would be.

But by the time tryouts began, 47 girls filled the gym, seizing the chance to compete, to wear the maroon and gold with pride, and to resurrect a sport that had been silenced since World War II.

“50 years ago, you didn’t have the women’s teams,” said Sherri Simmons, guard from 1974 to 1978. “So we played at recess with the boys, and it was competitive. When they told us we were getting a team, we were just happy to get the chance to play.”

During a recent Senior Night win, the Lady Hawks not only celebrated the current team but also paid tribute to the revolutionaries who helped launch the program, as this season marks the golden anniversary of Kelly girls' basketball.

In the lobby, a table displayed trophies, newspaper clippings, and a mannequin dressed in one of the red leisure pant suits worn by the first team. It was a simple but meaningful reminder of the program’s history, capturing both the competitive spirit and the unique identity of those early teams.

“The things we did were important,” said Terri Dempster, a forward from 1974 to 1978. “I’ve shared all those stories with my sons about how we brought the sport back to the Bootheel. But the main thing, looking back, is how much fun everything was. We just enjoyed being together and playing basketball. We were all such good friends.”

The creation of the team was a turning point for girls’ sports in Southeast Missouri. While girls’ basketball teams had been active in the region before World War II, the war and gas rationing led to their dissolution.

It was Dempster, who inadvertently set the wheels in motion for the establishment of the girls' team.

“The superintendent had told someone on the school board that if my parents gave permission, I could try out for the boys’ team and he would approve it,” Dempster said.  So my parents came down and I was told everything was set up for me to practice with the team that day.”

However, the superintendent later discovered that basketball was considered a contact sport, and Dempster would not be allowed to play in games even if she made the team.

This revelation led to the announcement of a meeting for any girls interested in playing basketball, and the rest is history.

“We had 47 people that went out for the team,” said Karma Beardslee, a forward from 1974 to 1977. “Then they started running us and we got down to 13 fast.”

The Lady Hawks’ first season was a proving ground for their toughness and talent. With an 11-3 record, they stormed through competition, finishing second in regionals. The next year, they claimed the district title and faced Lindbergh—an oversized opponent in the pre-classication era. That game marked Kelly’s only loss of the season.

“They had more people in their senior class than we had in our whole school,” Simmons said.

The third year of the program saw the Lady Hawks finish fourth in Class AA in 1977, a remarkable achievement for a team still finding its footing. By the fourth season, they had built on that success, finishing second in 1978, proving their rise was no fluke.

With each passing year, the Lady Hawks established themselves as a true powerhouse in the state, pushing the boundaries of what was expected of a young program.

“I remember we had to travel a lot,” Beardslee said. “That first year we went to Hickman, Kentucky, and Cairo, Illinois. Hickman beat us by putting a half-court trap on us. We had never seen that before, but it made us better ball players because we came back and did that to other teams.”

The Lady Hawks' influence extended beyond their court. East Prairie, Jackson and Cape Central added girls’ programs the following year, with Jackson always giving Kelly a run for their money according to Beardslee, who later became the first coach of the middle school team.

“We just had such great support back then,” Beardslee said. “The gym was full. The boys supported us and we supported them. It was great.”

The generational bond with the Lady Hawks remains unbroken. Simmons, who watched her great-niece take the court for the team, reflects on how success tends to circle back, with the program’s legacy continuing to inspire each new wave of players.

“Sometimes you wish you could get out there and help them,” Simmons said. “But everything is cyclical. It might not be this year or next year but the program will come back.”

The connection between those first players and today’s team is undeniable. In a time when girls’ basketball was still an afterthought in many areas, Kelly’s pioneers took it upon themselves to change the game, not only for themselves but for future generations. For Simmons, there was a deep sense of duty to win, not just for the program but for the community that rallied behind them.

“It was an obligation,” Simmons said. “We felt obliged to win for our community, school, and friends.”

For Dempster, the sense of unity and teamwork within the team was paramount. Despite the many challenges they faced, the bond they built on and off the court made every victory that much sweeter.

“Basketball has always been a really big thing,” Dempster said. “Everyone in the area just seemed to love basketball and going to the games. It just so happened at that time, we had such a large group of athletic girls who wanted to play the game. It was perfect.”

Dempster also spoke about the invaluable lessons learned, emphasizing how the team was built on trust and mutual support. Every player had their role, whether it was scoring, defending, or setting up plays, and each one knew they could rely on their teammates to step up when needed.

“It was probably the teamwork and learning to cooperate,” Dempster said. “Everyone had a place on the team. Sometimes we had good nights and sometimes we had bad nights, but we always tried to pick each other up.”

The foundation laid by the early teams at Kelly continues to resonate throughout the program. It’s a story of resilience, of breaking barriers, and of a group of young women who came together to not only play basketball but to change the trajectory of girls' sports in the area.

The red leisure pant suits became a symbol of the team’s unity and pride, marking them as something more than just a collection of players—it was a statement. In a time when girls’ sports were still gaining recognition and respect, especially in small communities, the suits were a bold visual representation of a team with confidence and purpose.

For Simmons, those suits weren’t just an outfit—they were part of the Lady Hawks' identity, a visible symbol of their strength and determination.

“They definitely intimidated our opponents,” she said. “When we stepped on the floor, we meant business.”

The Lady Hawks’ story is not just about basketball—it’s about changing the game. From the moment that first girls’ team stepped onto the court in 1974, they didn’t just compete; they fought for a place in a sport that had been denied to them. Every victory, every defeat, was a step toward building a foundation where girls could play, thrive, and be seen as equals to their male counterparts. They didn’t just break records—they broke barriers. And with each season that passed, they pushed the sport forward, proving that girls’ basketball was more than just a novelty—it was a right.

Their story is a reminder that basketball, like all sports, is a platform for equality, and by breaking barriers, they paved the way for the generations of girls who will follow in their footsteps.