Halle Larew ‘26 and Thisbe Lewis ‘26 both stand at around 6 ft. Both hit their first growth spurt around third grade, during which time they both played for the Iowa City Rec League. This rec league is when Lewis and Larew remember meeting for the first time.
“Every time we had a game, the other coach would be like, show me their birth certificates, there’s no way they’re in third grade,” Lewis said.
The pair remembers bonding over their height in the third grade. Though Larew continued to play basketball up until eighth grade, Lewis quit after her third-grade basketball season.
In seventh grade, as Larew continued to play basketball, Lewis was doing online school during COVID-19.
“When I was getting ready to come back to school for eighth grade, I was planning who I was going to try to become friends with, and I decided I’d talk to Halle because I remembered her being tall, and I had no tall friends,” Lewis said.
Lewis, wanting to throw herself into multiple activities due to spending so much time at home during the pandemic, decided to go out for basketball again in her eighth-grade year.
“I remember Thisbe didn’t really talk much, I think she just wanted to be part of a team. It was freshman year that we became close,” Larew.
Their freshman year at City High, Larew and Lewis played volleyball together. Lewis recalls her first volleyball practice at City High.
“I remember walking in on the first day, and I went up to our coach, and I just said that I’ve never played volleyball before. She couldn’t believe me because of my height. But then I started warming up, and she believed me,” Lewis said with a smile.
Larew remembers teaching Lewis some volleyball skills, and later on encouraging her to go out for basketball.
“I decided to go out for basketball just so I had something to do. I just enjoy being on a team,” Lewis said.
The duo recounts their time during freshman year with fondness, and often with laughter.
“We didn’t really start hanging out just the two of us until basketball started freshman year. Then we started to hang out all the time, and it’s been that way ever since,” Larew said between giggles.
When asked to describe her friendship with Larew, Lewis simply said, “just two really tall peas in a pod.”
Larew and Lewis have indeed been inseparable ever since that freshman season of basketball. Many of their teammates and friends agree with this.
“Whenever you see Halle, you know Thisbe is right around the corner,” teammate Maybeline Miller said.
Larew and Lewis are often found together. As Larew walked through her daily routine, Lewis was a constant presence.
“Well she picks me up for school every day, then we go to our classes, and we have one together. We get lunch together, hang out after school until practice starts, practice together, and then do the same thing all over again the next day,” Larew said.
Lewis says that when she reflects on the amount of time they’ve spent together over the years, she realizes that it might seem like a lot of time for most people. But for Halle and Thisbe, it’s normal.
“I feel like we are just really accepting of each other. We can be weird together and I feel like we go about our lives in the same type of way,” Lewis said.
In practice, the duo plays the same position at the power four. It’s truly a testament to Lewis and Larew’s friendship that they can compete with each other every day, and still be the best of friends.
“I’d say, hard being the same position and like, same skill level, pretty much too. I feel like it’s an easy opportunity to turn on each other and say mean things about each other or complain about each other, but I think that instead competing has helped us become better friends,” Lewis said.
“We are always going against each other, and sometimes we get irritated at practice, but we know that it will be fine once practice ends,” Larew said.
Both Larew and Lewis feel that they would not have had this special of an experience if they played anywhere but City High.
“I feel like everyone at City is just so supportive of us and of our friendship,” Larew said.
Looking to the future, Larew and Lewis plan to continue their friendship as they both attend the University of Iowa.
“I know we will be friends for a really long time, and I’m so grateful that basketball brought us together,” Lewis said.
