1954-1972

years of her high school career, Snoopy's team didn't win a si ngle game. She stored two-thirds of her team's ·points dUring that time, shooting jump shots, dribbling behind her back, throwing blind passes - the untypical movements of a high school player - a girl player at that. Snoopy was signed by Coach Lucille Wood of East Central Junior College Lady Warriors. Wood signed her without ever seeing her play. This sight~unseen move turned into profit for Wood's . team. Primarily because of her scoring, the Lady Warriors made it to the state c hampionship Snoopy's freshman year before losing by a point. Her sophomore year, she led the Lady Warriors to the state title. In a semi-final game in the North Mississippi tournament her ·sophomore year with five seconds left in the first half against hated rival East Mississippi, Bender took a step inside the time line, leaped off the floor, and using her perfect jump shot form, fired through a bucket. Everyone gasped. Later Bender played at .Jackson State and was drafted into the Pros, first playing with the Washington Metros. When the Metros folded, Bender joined the Stars. The Stars are playing in the championship tournament in New York City this week. It's a long way from Forest, Mississippi, to the hustle and bustle of itie big city. But Ted Hanna is another one of those who have made this big journey and now enjoy living.amoeg..the elite in city life. ·-

Hanna, a native of 1''orest, IS public relations director for King Features, ·the New Yerk based syndicated news agency. His firm handles news features and columns as well as comic strip syndication. Hanna, as public r elations tread, is responsible for selling fille items offered by his agency is well as serving as official host and news spokesman for the clients of King Features. His day may take him anywhere in the world and while he admits that his job is an exciting one, he stresses the immeme · "responsibility" accompanying such a position. Like any occupation, there are those when things are all going good, and other times, not so well. ' Thirty-six-year old Hanna has been a " New Yorker'' now for six years. He joined King Features after working; as ·city editor (glorified obituary writer) of the JACKSON DAILY NEWS. Hanna attended East Central Junior College in Decatur where he was editor of the Tom-Tom. He later attended Ole Miss for a year, - before finally graduating from the University of Southern Mississippi, where he· was on the staff of the Student Printz. Growing up in eastern Mississippi, Hanna probably never believed that he would one day be living in the hub of the world, in such an exciting occupation. But then again "one never knows, do one?"

Snoopy at 5'10" plays guard for the New York Stars in the Women's Professional Basketball League. When the Wildcat staff was in New York, they saw Snoopy in action against the Milwaukee Does ; the Stars won 142-107. In fact, they have lost only seven games out of thirty-five and have averaged 105 points per game. In the January 17, 1980 edition of The News World, Chris Fiala wrote of a game in which Bender's Stars beat Rita Easterling (of Morton and Mississippi College) and the Chicago Hustle. "Evelyn's fluid dribbling and effortless jumpers had gre~.!_!y ~id~__!_he Stars. She has 18 of her 20 points in the second quarter, then sat out the rest of the game with sore legs." "I played ball for nine years," says Bender. "This for me, is like the final reward for all those years of effort. If I don't play but one or two years, it's been worth it. U's like getting to play in the Pan Am games or the Olympics to me." When Snoopy played for Newton High School, she didn't know that a few years later she'd be playing in Madison Square Garden. The final two

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