
Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On June 15, 2023, Hubbard-Radcliffe 6-on-6 star and Drake Bulldog all-time great Lisa Brinkmeyer VanDeventer lost her battle with brain cancer. Gone too soon, Brinkmeyer left a legacy of athletic excellence and advancing women’s athletics in Iowa.

A standout three-sport athlete at Hubbard-Radcliffe, Brinkmeyer dominated on the hardwood. She captured the Iowa Miss Basketball crown in 1993 while leading the Rebels to the state’s final 6-on-6 basketball championship game. After amassing 3,615 points in an incredible high school career, Brinkmeyer headed to Des Moines to continue her playing career at Drake.

Brinkmeyer helped the Bulldogs to back-to-back Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championships in 1997 and 1998, MVC tournament titles in 1995, 1997, and 1998, and three NCAA tournament appearances. An all-MVC honorable mention her junior and senior seasons, Brinkmeyer moved to the bench to serve as an assistant coach from 1998-2000.

Moving on from coaching, Brinkmeyer VanDeventer continued to shape women’s sports in Iowa as the assistant director in charge of volleyball, golf, and soccer. Diagnosed with brain cancer in April 2022, doctors initially gave Brinkmeyer just a few months to live. Instead, she rallied with the help of ‘Brink’s Bench’ to confront her “little tango with brain cancer.” #IowaOTD #IowaHistoryDaily #IowaHistoryCalendar

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