USA BASKETBALL HISTORY
USA WOMEN’S PAN AMERICAN GAMES TEAM 1955 RESULTS
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO • MARCH 12-26, 1955
Women’s basketball made its Pan American Games debut in 1955, and the United States set the standard by claiming the first gold medal with a perfect 8-0 record in Mexico City. The U.S. team was formed after regional tryouts in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and Canyon, Texas. The top four teams from those sites — Hanes Hosiery Mills, Wayland College Flying Queens, the Kansas City Dons and Dowell’s Dolls — supplied the roster. Caddo Mathews served as head coach. Five nations competed in a double round-robin format. The Americans opened with a comeback 51-45 win over Brazil, rallying from an 11-point deficit behind 15 points from Lurlyne Greer Mealhouse. A day later, Mealhouse scored 21 and the USA set a Pan Am free throw record by going 17-for-17 at the line in a 53-49 victory over Mexico. She again paced the offense with 20 points in a 73-53 win over Chile. The USA limited Canada to just two first-quarter points in a 46-25 triumph before Mealhouse erupted for 30 points in a 62-43 win over Brazil. The Americans added a 63-35 victory over host Mexico and a 62-43 win over Chile, powered by Mealhouse’s 21 and Ruth Cannon’s 17. In the finale, the U.S. beat Canada 61-39 as 11 players scored, led by Mealhouse’s 12 and Eunice Futch’s 10. By defeating Chile and Brazil — the eventual silver and bronze medalists — the United States proved its dominance. Mealhouse was the tour- nament’s standout, averaging 17.5 points per game and totaling 140 points, which remains the most by a U.S. player in Pan American Games history. With its unbeaten run, the 1955 squad established the USA as the team to beat in future Pan American Games and laid the foundation for decades of international success.
1955 USA WOMEN’S PAN AMERICAN GAMES TEAM ROSTER
1955 USA RESULTS (8-0)
NAME
POS HGT WGT AGE SCHOOL
HOMETOWN
Brazil
W, 51-45 W, 53-49 W, 73-53 W, 46-25 W, 62-43 W, 63-35 W, 62-43 W, 61-39
Mexico
Rita Alexander Ruby Cannon Ruth Cannon Eunies Futch Evelyn Jordan
G G G C G F C F F F F
5-5 5-3 5-7 6-1 5-3 5-8 5-8
19 21 21 26 29 22 26 21 19 22 20 21
Wayland College Flying Queens Wayland College Flying Queens Wayland College Flying Queens
Coppell, TX
Cotton Center, TX Cotton Center, TX Winston-Salem, NC Winston-Salem, NC Kansas City, MO
Chile
Canada
Hanes Hosiery Mills Hanes Hosiery Mills Midland Jewelry
Brazil
Mexico
Edith Kline
Lurlyne Greer Mealhouse F
Haines Hosiery (Little Rock J. C.) Wayland College Flying Queens K. C. Dons (Iowa Wesleyan Coll.) Wayland College Flying Queens Dowell’s Dolls (West Texas St.) Wayland College Flying Queens
Desarc, AR Topeka, KS Dexter, IA Summit, TX
Chile
Lometa Odom Barbara Ann Sipes Maurienne Smithson
5-11
Canada
6-1
5-11 5-10
Jo Helen White
Quail, TX
FINAL STANDINGS
Faye Wilson
5-8
Duncanville, TX
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
United States (8-0)
HEAD COACH: Caddo Mathews, Wayland College Flying Queens (TX) MANAGER: Lillian Van Blarcom, AAU (Wichita, KS) CAPTAIN: Lurlyne Greer Mealhouse
Chile (5-3) Brazil (4-4) Mexico (3-5) Canada (0-8)
1955 USA WOMEN’S PAN AMERICAN GAMES TEAM CUMULATIVE STATISTICS
NAME
G/S
FGM-A
PCT
FTM-A
PCT
PTS
Mealhouse
8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 5 4
42- 28- 22- 18- 11- 17- 10- 11-
56- 89 10- 21 12- 14 11- 17 15- 25
0.629 140/ 17.5 0.476 66/ 8.3 0.857 56/ 7.0 0.647 47/ 5.9
Cannon
Alexander
Cannon Wilson Futch Odom Sipes Jordan
0.6 0.5
37/ 4.6 36/ 4.5 22/ 2.8 18/ 2.3
2- 4 5- 17 0- 7 2- 4 4- 6 1- 2 1- 4
0.294 25/ 3.1
0
8- 7- 2- 0-
0.5
White Kline
0.667 18/ 2.3
0.5
5/ 1.0 1/ 0.3
Smithson
0.25
USA OPP.
8 8
176- 124-
119-206 84-171
0.578 471/ 58.9 0.491 332/ 41.5
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