Cedar Rapids Team Wins National Granny Basketball Tournament

Don't call this basketball team a bunch of 'grannies'. Call them National Champions!

A team from Cedar Rapids has won the largest National Granny Basketball Tournament in history! That team is the Cedar Rapids Sizzlers. CBS2 reports that the Sizzlers cooked their way to a National Championship in Granny Basketball with a thrilling 51-47 overtime win in the national title game. The tournament took place on August 3rd and 4th at the Homefield KCK Showcase Center in Kansas City.

With their win over the Harpers Ferry Fireflies, the Cedar Rapids Sizzlers claimed their fourth national title since 2015. Talk about a basketball dynasty! CBS2 reports that Iowa teams swept the top three places in the championship division. The Lady Redbirds of Carlisle finished in third place. This year's win also marks the second time that the Sizzlers have won both the national and Iowa Senior Games championships in the same season, according to CBS2. The Fireflies also accomplished that feat in 2016 and 2017.

CBS2 reports that this year's tournament featured 28 teams from 10 states and even included a team from Ontario, Canada. Over 300 players aged 50 to 92 competed in the tournament. If you're wondering just what Granny Basketball is, the game adapts the 1920s six-on-six game for women. Players must be 50 years of age or older to participate. The sport got started in Lansing, Iowa in 2005 as an exhibition game. It grew in popularity with more teams joining until a tournament was formed. The first national tournament was held in Minneapolis in 2008.

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