Reigniting Women's Basketball in PDX
May 25, 2010 - International Basketball League (IBL) News Release
Who says women's basketball isn't big?? If it isn't, someone forgot to tell metropolitan Portland. The high school system in the Portland area-has seen powerhouse programs like the Oregon City Pioneers win National high school titles and others try to mirror this in their aspirations. The former Oregon City head coach, Brad Smith, has helped create and organize THE largest girls' high school basketball tournament in North America that is played in the Portland area every year. The talent seen in the Portland area during the summer months is astounding.
So what's stopping the dream of reigniting the fire here? The IBL begs to re-examine this question.
The history of women's basketball in Portland is a storied one, high attendance numbers yet little results in staying power at the professional level. There were two women's professional basketball teams that have inhabited Portland, the Portland Power of the ABL (American Basketball League) and the Portland Fire of the WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association). The Power began play in 1996, and disbanded when the ABL folded at the end of 1998. After the franchise folded, many Power players went on to continue their careers in the WNBA. The Portland Fire joined the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) in 2000 as the counterpart to the NBA team the Portland Trail Blazers. They played their games at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon. The team folded after the 2002 season, just three seasons into the league.
On May 26th, 2010 women's basketball makes its joyous return to PDX. At 6:30pm, on the campus of Warner Pacific College the IBL opens its doors to make way for this phoenix to rise from the flames. The fire is returning as a double-header, coupling with their brother team in the IBL, the Oregon Waves. The women begin a seven game series entitled- "The Best of the Best" that is designed to showcase the finest skilled women's players from around the area, with two teams-the Portland Energy vs. the NW Elite All-Stars (rosters on following page).
The game of basketball has not changed, however the skills of players have taken it to the next level. The IBL dreams of bringing back women's professional basketball to (the Coliseum) and tomorrow-May 26th at Warner Pacific College-6:30pm is the first step in that journey.
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International Basketball League Stories from May 25, 2010
- Reigniting Women's Basketball in PDX - IBL
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