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PERHAM – Youth girls basketball players traveled to Minneapolis on Friday to play at the Target Center before the final Minnesota Lynx home games of the regular season.
Sixth graders from Perham and Hawley and seventh graders from Perham and Wadena played on the floor at the Target Center before attending the final WNBA home game in Minnesota this summer. Roughly 25 girls from the Hawley, Perham and Wadena areas played on the big stage.
"It was just like how the Lynx play,” said Erin Gjerde, a Perham parent. “The girls got to hear their name be called like they would for the starting lineup. They also heard their name every time they scored. It was super fun to hear, and I know they had a ball.”
Many of the girls stayed for the Lynx game a few hours later. Despite a 96-69 loss to the Seattle Storm, area players witnessed the final home game for WNBA legend Sylvia Fowls. A few kids also met star guard Sue Bird before tip-off.
“They were all smiles,” Gjerde said of the whole experience. “They were super thrilled to be there. The game got picked up by ESPN, so they had a lot more security and stuff. We had to hurry up and take quick pictures before they got off the court. But when they walked off, they were super thrilled and happy to be there. As a parent, to see your child out there was even better.”
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‘We’re already planning for next year. We want to take more girls and more teams. There was another game after us between Blaine and Edina. We’re hoping to take some younger girls and older girls next time.”
