Rare Gems: How Four Generations of Women Paved the Way For the WNBA

An expansive and compelling chronicle tracing the rise of modern women's basketball

Elvera "Peps" Neuman got lost in the sounds and rhythms of basketball, dribbling and shooting on a hoop affixed to her family's barn in Eden Valley, Minnesota. In the years preceding Title IX, Neuman;s dreams of playing the game professionally meant a life away from home on barnstorming tours and even forming a team of her own, the Arkansas Gems.

Sixty years later, she got to witness what a sold-out Target C...