also played. She won championships in Spain with both Cottet and the Women's Section. In 1944 Hernández received an offer from FC Barcelona, staying at the club until 1953, retiring from the competition at the age of 36 to be a mother. She got an offer from the Gruppo Universitari Fascisti of Fascist Italy, which the Francoist dictatorship did not allow her to accept. Impact and later life Hernández broke barriers in the world of sports in the 1930s and was active until 1953. She was one of the pioneers of Spanish basketball, as a player, coach and referee. She was the first female coach in Spain when she led the Peña García de Hospitalet team in 1932, and went on to coach five more teams. With a ball in her hands, she was characterized as a national heroine on the level of "those blessed women Victoria Kent, Clara Campoamor, Federica Montseny ...". Hernández was also one of the first women in Barcelona to obtain a driving license in Francoist Spain. Her home became a pilgrimage site for many basketball players, including Amaya Valdemoro and Elisa Aguilar Laia Palau (from the same neighborhood of Barcelona). At her apartment, she had a small museum with mementos and compilations from her playing and coaching career. In 2016, The Girl with the Hook, a documentary made by Raquel Barrera Sutorra, and produced by Ochichornia, was released, a film that followed Hernández from 96 to 99 years old and provided an account of the trajectory of this basketball pioneer. Hernández died in Barcelona on 19 December 2022, at age 105. Teams as a player Atlas Club; CE Laietà; FC Barcelona; Sección Femenina; Peña García; Cottet; Moix Llambés; Fabra y Coats Teams as a coach Cottet; Moix Llambés; Sección Femenina; Peña García Awards and recognition 2014: Tribute from the Spanish Federation along with other pioneers of women's basketball. 2016: "La Niña del Gancho", documentary tribute to a pioneer of Spanish women's sports. 2016: Lifetime Achievement Award, a lifetime dedicated to the sport of the Autonomous Community and the Association of the Sports Press of the Region of Murcia. 2017: Tribute from FC Barcelona as a former player of the club, during the Barcelona-Manresa game on 12 February 2017. References External links Entrevista Encarnación Hernández – Diario Fotofinish, 2016. Encarnación Hernández, abriendo camino – Federación Española de Baloncesto, 2014. Los ganchos de Encarna Hernández , at