stories
The Past Uncovered
We have uncovered many great historical facts and entertaining stories as we interview the legends of the game. Here’s a sneak peek at some of the stories.
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Recent News
MOKAN Interviews
In November 2023, Executive Producer Brenda VanLengen and the If Not for Them crew welcomed several highly decorated guests to the beautiful MOKAN Basketball facility in Lenexa, Kan., for three full days of interviews. That list included 1969 CIAW National…
Black History Month Spotlight
Since the time basketball was first adopted by women, it has created opportunities for women of color. In turn, Black and African American women have helped to push the game to new heights as players, coaches and administrators. This Black…
Iowa guard Caitlin Clark approaches historic scoring marks
Editor’s Note (Feb. 28, 2024): Clark passed Lynette Woodard with 3,650 career points and now holds the Division I women’s basketball scoring record. February 2, 2024 — As Caitlin Clark ascends the all-time women’s basketball scoring charts, she is on…
1976 Olympic Women’s Basketball Team to be Inducted into Naismith Hall of Fame
Nearly 50 years after representing its country, the 1976 U.S.A. Women’s Olympic Basketball Team will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame this weekend. The award will be presented by two Hall of Famers and iconic members…
New Opportunities to Join The Team
After a successful Sneak Preview event at the NCAA Division I Women’s Final Four in Dallas, Texas, Executive Producer Brenda VanLengen has been hard at work preparing for the final fundraising phase of this docuseries project. If you have not…
Celebrating Bessie Stockard
Bessie Stockard is turning 90 this weekend and we thought it was the perfect time to tell a little bit more of her incredible story. Stockard is perhaps best known as the first African American woman to serve on a…
Remembering Billie Moore
Photo courtesy of Darlene J. Allen Hall of Fame coach and pioneer of the game, Billie Moore, Wednesday, December 14, 2022, after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Moore is perhaps best known for her contributions to USA Basketball…
Marian Washington Legacy Reunion
The University of Kansas took time this weekend to honor legendary coach Marian Washington and her impact on the Jayhawks that can still be felt decades after her career. If Not For Them Executive Producer Brenda VanLengen was there, serving…
Atlantic Coast/Southeast Trip Day Three
Belmont University was the host for Executive Producer Brenda VanLengen and the Real Media crew during a day of interviews for subjects from around Nashville and others who traveled in to meet up with us. Thank you to Renee Schultz…
Atlantic Coast/Southeast Trip Day Two
The Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame was the perfect site for Executive Producer, Brenda VanLengen, and the Real Media crew to interview several people with ties to the early days of college women’s basketball and the late, great Pat Summitt….
Atlantic Coast/Southeast Trip Day One
When Patsy Neal was a senior in high school in Georgia, she saw a line in the local newspaper that changed her life forever. “Wayland Baptist Flying Queens win the 1956 AAU national tournament.” That inspired her to find out…
SoCal Day Two
On Day One in Southern California, we collected stories about the Japanese League in Sacramento, the high school programs in the urban core of LA plus the early successful college programs at Cal Poly Pomona, UCLA and Long Beach State. …
SoCal Day One
In this docuseries, we are working to preserve the stories of those that built the foundation of college women’s basketball throughout the United States. Our travels this week took us to Southern California to capture stories of how women’s basketball…
Joan and Dixie
Joan Crawford and Dixie Woodall were teammates for two years for the vaunted Nashville Business College program 60 years ago, but they are friends for life and both have had a great influence on women’s basketball. Crawford was named AAU…
Lady Techsters
We spent the day in Memorial Gymnasium on the campus of Louisiana Tech, the site of many victories for the Lady Techsters in the early years of their program. The Thomas Assembly Center, where basketball is played now, was built…
LSU and NBC
Executive Producer Brenda VanLengen and the Real Media crew made the first stop of the Louisiana road trip in Baton Rouge on the campus of Louisiana State University. There, we were able to see Sue Gunter’s statue inside the Pete…
Overland Park Interviews
On Wednesday, we had the opportunity to welcome three women who were very involved with the history of women’s basketball into the Real Media studio. Real Media is our filming and production partner. The day began with Bessie Stockard, who…
Celebrating Title IX with a Legendary Leader
Celebrating Title IX with a Legendary Leader While the sports world celebrated the 50th anniversary of Title IX on Thursday, Executive Producer Brenda VanLengen spent the morning with Dr. Charlotte West. The same West, who was being honored on the…
Interviews in the Prairie State
On Wednesday, Executive Producer Brenda VanLengen took a pause before walking into Horton Field House at Illinois State University. This storied venue hosted the first AIAW Championship in 1972 and as such, served as a sort of home base for…
Remembering a Century of Basketball in Iowa
Executive Producer Brenda VanLengen and the Real Media team are back on the road! This trip started in Iowa where the history of high school girls basketball dates back more than 100 years. The first stop was the Iowa Hall…
Alice “Cookie” Barron is a Hall of Famer
On Thursday, Alice “Cookie” Barron of the Wayland Baptist Flying Queens will be inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tenn. The Flying Queens went undefeated in her career (1955 to 1957), recording 104 consecutive victories and…
Catching up with Donna Lopiano
On the final day of our Northeast Trip, Donna Lopiano was gracious enough to host Executive Producer Brenda VanLengen and the Real Media crew in her home. There, Lopiano shared stories from her own athletic career in which she was…
Lucille Kyvallos and Queens College
Editor’s Note: Longtime Queens College coach Lucille Kyvallos was named to the 2025 class of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. She will be honored in June 2025 at the induction ceremony. Day 4 of our Northeast Trip took Executive…
Walking in West Chester
Executive Producer Brenda VanLengen and the Real Media crew spent Day 3 of the Northeast Trip diving deeper with Yolanda Laney, meeting her high school coach Lurline Jones and connecting with Marian Washington’s daughter Josie Washington-McQuay. Each brought incredible stories…
Immaculata and the Mighty Macs
Day 2 of our Northeast Trip is in the books. Executive Producer Brenda VanLengen and the Real Media Crew spent the day on the campus of Immaculata University interviewing two of the most legendary Mighty Macs of all time. You…
Brenda VanLengen – Why?
AIAW and Title IX
