Dates

• Existence: 1932-

Biography

Ernella Van Horn was born on April22, 1932 to Ernst Leo Balster and Stella Werden Balster. She was the second of four generations of women in her family to play basketball in Iowa. Her mother, Stella Werden Balster, was born on October 29, 1893near Jonesville, Iowa. Stella Balster played one of the first versions of six-on-six basketball, in which the court was divided into three sections. Her youngest daughter, Ernella Balster, grew up playing the two-court version of six-on-six basketball for Monmouth Senior High School (currently known as Midland of Wyoming) from 1945-1949. Upon her high school graduation, Ernella Balster attended the American Institute of Commerce in Davenport, Iowa. There, she continued her basketball career, and met her future husband, Ray Leland Van Horn; they were married on November 19, 1950. They had three children, Kathryn, Cheryl, and Russell Van Horn.

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