Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It was first played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts . It spread across the United States , in large parts via women's college competitions, and has since spread globally. As of 2020, basketball is one of the most popular and fastest growing sports in the world.
94-700: Jessica Bibby (born 23 August 1979) is an Australian sportswoman. She has played nearly 400 games in the WNBL and won several WNBL Championships. She has played for the Dandenong Rangers and Canberra Capitals . She was drafted by the WNBA's New York Liberty in 2000 and played for the team. She has played for the Australian national basketball team at junior and senior level. In 2017, turned to Australian rules football , playing for Greater Western Sydney in all seven games of
188-616: A 12-team league in 1997 but disbanded before 1997 season. The WBA played a 15-game schedule and games were broadcast on Liberty Sports of Dallas. When FOX Sports purchased Liberty Sports and the WBA, they disbanded the league. In 1996, two professional women's leagues were started in the United States. They were the American Basketball League and the WNBA . The American Basketball League
282-457: A college is spending $ 400,000 per year on athletic scholarships and half of the athletic participants are women then half of that amount, $ 200,000, should be funding athletic scholarships for women (McDonagh, Pappano, 2008, 299). The gender equity rule entails that a school must prove that it “meets the interest of the gender that is underrepresented” (McDonagh, Pappano, 2008, 107) which happens to be women. The historical progress rule entails that if
376-623: A consortium co-managed by the National Basketball League (NBL). The NBL will assume operation of the WNBL from April 2025, following the 2024–25 WNBL season . The WNBL regular season typically begins in October and concludes in mid to late February. The WNBL will run a full home and away season, with all Finals a best of three. Teams will play each other three times (21 games per team), meaning an 84-game regular season. The top four teams in on
470-493: A fair manner. To ensure that schools comply with Title IX, they face the consequence of losing federal funding for any violation (Sadker, 2001). The proportionality rule entails that a school provides opportunities proportional to its enrollment. As an example, if a school is 55% male and 45% female then the athletic participation should be 55:45 (McDonagh, Pappano, 2008). Not only does the proportionality rule apply to athletic participation, but it also addresses scholarships. “So if
564-685: A marginally wider radius of exactly 1.25 m (4 ft 1 in). The WNBA shot clock was changed from 30 to 24 seconds, which has been in FIBA play since 2000, and has been used by the NBA since the shot clock was first introduced in 1954 . Both men's and women's NCAA college basketball use a 30-second shot clock; the men's clock was introduced in 1985 at 45 seconds, lowered to 35 seconds in 1993 , and 30 seconds in 2015 . Most high school games are played with four 8-minute quarters, while NCAA, WNBA, and FIBA games are played in four 10 minute quarters. In 2015–2016
658-517: A number of players from English-speaking countries who supplement their WNBA salaries by playing in the league. This is possible because the WNBA conducts its season in the Northern Hemisphere summer, which is the off-season for most basketball leagues throughout the world, including the WNBL. A number of international players have played in the WNBL, such as: ABC held the rights from the inaugural season in 1981 until they axed their coverage in
752-466: A pullout section for the women’s NCAA March Madness tournament" (McDonagh, Pappano, 2008, 109). Professional women's basketball has been played in the United States. There have been several leagues, the most recent of which is the WNBA . The first attempt was the Women's Pro Basketball League . The league played three seasons from the fall of 1978 to the spring of 1981. The league is generally considered to be
846-429: A rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball through the defender's hoop. The rules for women's basketball are almost identical to the rules for men's basketball. The most noticeable differences are the circumference and mass of the women's basketball, with the circumference being one inch (2.54 cm) and the mass two ounces (56.70 g) less than the men's basketball. The smaller ball
940-445: A replay in the regular Saturday afternoon slot. The WNBL was very stable with eight teams for a number of seasons with Tasmania and Northern Territory not represented. In 2006, Bendigo, through the efforts of a strong community focus for women's basketball, commenced discussions with Basketball Australia about entering a team for the 2007–08 season. At the same time, Basketball New Zealand had discussions with Basketball Australia about
1034-544: A school is unable to provide proportional opportunities then they must put forth an effort to create more opportunities for the underrepresented gender (McDonagh, Pappano, 2008). Between 1971 and 2000, Title IX has proven to have had a huge impact on female collegiate sports. Sports participation among college women has risen from 372 percent over that time, from 32,000 to more than 150,000 women (McDonagh, Pappano, 2008, 108). Also now 33.5% of female students participate in sports (McDonagh, Pappano, 2008). The issue still remaining
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#17328758792481128-571: A second team out of Queensland from the south and after some very effective feasibility work, Logan Basketball Association were successful in being admitted into the 2008–09 season with the Logan Thunder. A February 2023 match between the Southside Flyers and the Sydney Flames drew a crowd of 7,681, which is the largest ever WNBL crowd. In June 2024, Basketball Australia sold the WNBL to
1222-674: A silver medal at the Junior World Championships. Bibby has made several caps for the senior national team. She made her debut for the team in 2009, during a test match in China. She was part of the national team that won a gold medal at the 2009 FIBA Oceania Championship. In the finals, she scored 19 points. She was part of the Opals side that competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics qualifying tournament. Women%27s National Basketball League The Women's National Basketball League ( WNBL )
1316-525: A team from New Zealand entering the next season. In October 2006, the decision was made to welcome two new teams into the WNBL for the 2007–08 season in Bendigo Spirit and Christchurch Sirens . Bendigo brought excellent community support into the league, whilst Christchurch had a number of the New Zealand Tall Ferns on their roster to begin. One of the strategic objectives of the WNBL was to see
1410-676: Is a professional women's basketball league in Australia composed of eight teams. The league was founded in 1981 and is the women's counterpart to the National Basketball League (NBL). In August 1980, West Adelaide Bearcat Coach Ted Powell , after an encouraging exchange of letters with St Kilda's Coach Bill Palmer , called a meeting at the Governor Hindmarsh Hotel in Adelaide. In attendance were Ted, North Adelaide Coach Kay McFarlane and Noarlunga Coach Brendan Flynn. At this meeting it
1504-539: Is also popular. The strongest European women's basketball clubs participate in the EuroLeague Women . Women's basketball began in the fall of 1892 at Smith College . Senda Berenson , recently hired as a young "physical culture" director at Smith, taught basketball to her students, hoping the activity would improve their physical health. While for men, basketball was designed as an indoor addition to existing team sports such as baseball and football, basketball became
1598-475: Is crowned as WNBL champion. Over the years the success of the Opals has been vitally linked to the success of the WNBL. The WNBL has seen the development of famous Opals such as Robyn Maher , Michele Timms , Karen Dalton , Rachael Sporn , Shelley Sandie , Julie Nykiel , Jenny Whittle , Lauren Jackson and Penny Taylor . All have represented Australia with distinction and been key performers season after season for their clubs. The Most Valuable Player Award
1692-613: Is divided into two conferences, the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference. Each of the 12 teams plays a 34-game regular season schedule, beginning in June and ending in mid September. Although the WNBA is divided into conferences for scheduling purposes, it has used a single table for purposes of playoff qualifying since the 2016 season. The eight teams with the best overall records, regardless of conference affiliation, compete in
1786-475: Is given to player deemed the most valuable for (her team) that season. The Grand Final Most Valuable Player Award is given to player deemed the most valuable for (her team) in the finals. The Rookie of the Year Award is awarded to the most outstanding first-year player. The Defensive Player of the Year Award is awarded to the league's best defender. The Top Shooter of the Year Award is given to the player who averages
1880-501: Is split into two levels. Division 1 is as close to professional as women's sport gets in the United Kingdom, with teams such as Rhondda Rebels and Sheffield Hatters bringing in players from the US and Europe. The Nottingham Wildcats make up the trio of clubs that helped establish the women's league and remain amongst the top three or four places. The gap between these top teams and the rest of
1974-443: Is that women's sports beyond college do not benefit from Title IX. As a whole, they make less income than men in professional sports which Title IX cannot do much about. However, due to Title IX some women have gotten recognition as a result of the debate. "Women athletes receive greater respect today but relatively skimpy media attention. Thank Title IX for…the growing visibility of women's college basketball that has USA Today producing
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#17328758792482068-650: Is the highest women's professional club basketball competition in Hong Kong . The Indian National Basketball Championship for Women is a professional basketball tournament in India for women The Women's Japan Basketball League is a premier women's basketball league in Japan . The Lebanese Basketball League or FLB League is the top-tier professional basketball league in Lebanon . The Women's Philippine Basketball League
2162-551: The 2017 AFL Women's season . Bibby retired from professional sport at the end of the season. Bibby was born on 23 August 1979. She is 169 centimetres (67 in) tall. In 1999, she seriously injured her back, and it was possible that she might never play basketball again, but surgery allowed her to return to the sport. Bibby is a guard. As a junior basketball player, she played for the Kilsyth Cobras in Victoria. In 2011, Bibby
2256-590: The Commonwealth Games in 2006. Basketball (for both men and women) is one of the sports that the host nation of the Island Games may select for competition. Wheelchair basketball, one of the original eight events of the Paralympic Games, also has a women's wheelchair basketball championship program. AfroBasket Women is the women's basketball continental championship of Africa , played biennially under
2350-630: The FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup . The event, renamed from "FIBA World Championship for Women" after its 2014 edition, is currently held in even-numbered non-Summer Olympic years. Berenson's freshmen played the sophomore class in the first women's collegiate basketball game held on 22 March 1893. University of California and Miss Head's School , had played the first women's extramural game in 1892. Also in 1893, Mount Holyoke and Sophie Newcomb College , coached by Clara Gregory Baer (the inventor of Newcomb ball ) women began playing basketball. By 1895,
2444-638: The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) began to sponsor the sport. . After several failed attempts at women's professional leagues in the U.S., the NBA founded the WNBA in 1996. The first nationally televised championship game occurred in 1979. Ivy Kirkpatrick of Stephen F. Austin State University coordinated the collaboration between NBC Sports and the AIAW. Only the title game
2538-549: The WNBA consisted of 12 teams across the United States . A 13th U.S. team will start play in 2025, with two more (one each from the U.S. and Canada ) starting play in 2026. A new 3-on-3 league, Unrivaled , will start play in January 2025, giving WNBA players a U.S.-based competitive outlet during that league's offseason Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly with five players each, opposing one another on
2632-514: The 1970s and the introduction of Title IX . While Senda Berenson 's desire to limit competition was not realized forever, her larger goals were. College basketball and other women's college sports impacted the American cultural mindset around women and women's rights at the turn of the century, and colleges played a large role in enabling women to participate in athletics at all levels. Though in 1900 only 2.8% of American women were enrolled in college,
2726-515: The 2014/15 season. Women%27s basketball There are multiple professional leagues and tournaments for professional women basketball players. The main North American league is the WNBA . The FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup and Women's Olympic Basketball Tournament feature top national teams from continental championships. In the US, the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship
2820-576: The Championship ladder move on to the WNBL Finals, usually taking place in March. After April, teams hold training camps. Training camps allow the coaching staff to prepare the players for the regular season, and determine the roster with which they will begin the regular season. After training camp, a series of preseason exhibition games are held. The top four teams at the end of the regular season advances to
2914-579: The Chief Executive. Throughout the mid-late 1990s (and into the early 2000s) the WNBL brand became the most well known women's sport brand in Australia, it was also recognised as one of the top 3 leading women's basketball leagues in the world. The ABC televised weekly WNBL games and broadcast the 1994 Women's World Championships held in Australia, this provided women's basketball with the type of profile required to help secure significant sponsorship enabling
Jessica Bibby - Misplaced Pages Continue
3008-604: The Division for Girls and Women in Sport (which later developed into the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women ) was changed to allow and encourage women's intercollegiate competition. In 1971 the five-player, full court game was adopted, followed by the Women's Sports Foundation, which was formed in 1974. Women's college basketball remains very popular throughout North America , with
3102-426: The FIBA standard court is slightly smaller at 28 by 15 m (91 ft 10.36 in by 49 ft 2.55 in) . For most of its distance, the three-point line is 6.75 m (22 ft 1.75 in) from the middle of the basket under both FIBA and WNBA rules. Near the sidelines, the three-point line runs parallel to the.sideline, at a distance of exactly a yard in the WNBA and 0.9 m in FIBA play. Under NCAA rules,
3196-594: The League to reduce the travel pool and to continue to build on the WNBL Brand. The ABC continued to televise the league despite some difficulties in mid-2001 when the ABC contemplated changing their televising of sport. A successful partnership between the WNBL and Netball Australia subsequently saw both sports retained on ABC. ABC undertook to increase their coverage by showing Friday night games live on ABC digital television as well as
3290-479: The NBA Board of Governors on 24 April 1996, the creation of the WNBA was first announced at a press conference with Rebecca Lobo , Lisa Leslie and Sheryl Swoopes in attendance. While not the first major women's professional basketball league in the United States (a distinction held by the defunct WBL), the WNBA is the only league to receive full backing of the NBA. On the heels of a much-publicized gold medal run by
3384-465: The NBL finally riding the crest of a sudden wave of popularity, media interest in the women's league also was on the increase. Most clubs were recognising the need to promote themselves and the image of the league. Double header matches with the men's NBL and with South East Basketball League games – a secondary men's interstate competition – pushed the women's game before a wider spectator audience unfamiliar with
3478-625: The NCAA changed the rules to 10 minute quarters from 20 minute halves. High lobs or tip-ins can be attempted with up to 0.3 seconds left in the period per the Trent Tucker Rule . A WNBA rule removed the jump ball at the start of the second half. Women's basketball is governed internationally by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). Since 1953 FIBA has hosted a world championship tournament for women, currently known as
3572-547: The National Amateur Athletic Foundation was founded in the 1920s, and the organization's goals included keeping women's sports non-competitive by discouraging travel and awards, discouraging publicity, and keeping women coaches and administrators in charge of women's sports. From 1895 until 1970, the term "women's basketball" (or, in New Zealand, "outdoor basketball") was also used to refer to netball , at
3666-494: The Newcomb College Basketball Rules, published in 1908. Despite participating in the first intercollegiate women's basketball game, Stanford's faculty athletic committee banned intercollegiate competition for women, first in team sports like basketball and later extending to all sports, and Cal (as well as many other prestigious colleges at the time) followed suit. In many cases, such bans were not lifted until
3760-549: The Olympic Games in 1976; the men had debuted in 1936. Throughout the 1970s, funding for (and interest in) women's basketball began to dramatically increase as schools receiving federal funding began to come into compliance with new laws mandating a lack of discrimination based on sex. The sport was also gaining attention at the collegiate level, under the auspices of the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW). America's first professional basketball league for women
3854-626: The Rangers teams that won WNBL Championships during the 2003/2004 season, and during the 2004/2005 season. Bibby joined the Capitals for the 2006/2007 season. In her first season with the team, she averaged 15.5 points per game during the regular season. In an October 2006 game, as part of a 5-game winning streak, she scored 20 points in a single game. In a December 2006 game against Sydney, she scored 15 points. In her second season, she averaged 16.1 points per game and 15.1 points per game in her third season with
Jessica Bibby - Misplaced Pages Continue
3948-517: The Second Divisions, with the top playing the bottom of the other pool. This year (2006/7) saw several new teams join the second division, showing the continual growth of the women's game. These included the SevenOaks Suns, Enfield Phoenix, Taunton Tigers and Bristol Storm. Professional women's basketball exists in Australia in the form of the Women's National Basketball League . The league
4042-735: The USA women's national team at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, the WNBA began its first season on 21 June 1997 to much fanfare. The league began with eight teams. The first WNBA game featured the New York Liberty facing the Los Angeles Sparks in Los Angeles and was televised in the United States on the NBC television network. At the start of the 1997 season, the WNBA had television deals in place with NBC , ESPN and Lifetime Television Network . The league
4136-598: The WNBL was born. Reference. (Boti Nagy. High flyers: women's basketball in Australia 1990. Sun Books) In 1981, the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) was also opened and the men's head coach Dr. Adrian Hurley (who was to lead the Australian Boomers in the 1988 and 1992 Olympics) contacted the clubs and asked whether the AIS could also participate in the competition to commence later that year. The nine teams in
4230-564: The Year. She has won several championships in the WNBL. In January 2008, she played her 200th game in the league. Bibby joined the Rangers in 1996 and was a member of the team until 2006. In her first season with the team, she averaged 4.5 points per game. Her highest season average points per game for the Rangers was 14.9 during the 1999/2000 season. In her final season with the team, she played only 6 games after having played 21 games during all seasons from 1998/1999 to 2004/2005. Bibby has been part of
4324-464: The association between athletics and college was able to make sports acceptable and a central part of the image of progressive women in the early 1900s. Women's basketball continued to grow in universities across the country, expanding especially rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s as the Equal Rights Amendment raised awareness of unequal treatment in college athletics and the official position of
4418-459: The attire still drew public ridicule. Originally exclusively intramural, the first intercollegiate women's basketball game was played between teams from Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley , on April 4, 1896. Berenson herself opposed intercollegiate play for women, and prioritized the health and fitness benefits for a larger goal: she believed that women, newly entering
4512-525: The auspices of FIBA, the basketball sport governing body , and the African zone thereof. The tournament also serves to qualify teams for participation in the quadrennial FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup and the Olympic basketball tournament . The Women's Chinese Basketball Association ( WCBA ) is a professional women's basketball league established in 2002. The Women's Hong Kong Basketball Association
4606-525: The early 1980s. The 1990s were dominated by Sydney, Melbourne Tigers, Adelaide Lightning and Canberra. The AIS won their first title in the first summer season of 1998–99 led by one of the best basketballers in the world, Lauren Jackson . Jan Morris continued as the President (10 years as President is recognised as an outstanding contribution to the WNBL) of the League and in 1995 Leeanne Grantham (née Christie) became
4700-410: The finals. The teams finishing in the first and second positions at the completion of the regular season receive home advantage in their three-game first-round match-up against the teams finishing in fourth and third positions respectively. The winners of these series advance to the grand final. With home advantage being awarded to the highest remaining seed, the winner of the three-game grand final series
4794-488: The first American professional women's basketball league to be founded. The second women's professional league to be created in the United States was the WBA . The league played three seasons from the summer of 1993 to the summer of 1995. The league is considered to be the first American professional women's basketball league to be successful as a summer league, like the WNBA. The league played three full seasons with plans to play as
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#17328758792484888-399: The first women's team sport, followed shortly after by hockey, rowing, and volleyball. Basketball's early adherents were affiliated with YMCAs and colleges throughout the United States, and the game quickly spread throughout the country. However, Berenson was taking risks simply in teaching the game to women. Nineteenth-century Victorian culture stressed the frailty of women and prioritized
4982-414: The game had spread to colleges across the country, including Wellesley , Vassar and Bryn Mawr . The first intercollegiate women's game was on 4 April 1896. Stanford women played California, 9-on-9, ending in a 2–1 Stanford victory. Clara Gregory Baer published the first book of rules for women's basketball in 1895 she first called the game 'Basquette', a name later dropped in her first revision of rules,
5076-533: The game was to provide more opportunities for the best players and clubs to play against each other more regularly. A major consideration was finance and with this in mind the competition was formed with the six teams with a full home and away series between all teams with three games on one weekend to save costs. The NSW based clubs of Bankstown and Sutherland were not happy to be left out due to costs and offered to pay their own way to Melbourne and Adelaide where they would play each team once for double points. And so
5170-519: The idea was that many of the top sides in both States wanted a varied competition from their standard State League as well as a suitable preparation for the Australian Club Championship, which was held on an annual basis for the top 24 teams in the country. There was also much excitement with the formation of the Men's National League in 1979 and the women felt that one of the best ways to develop
5264-444: The inaugural season of the league were: AIS, Bankstown Bruins, Catholic Young Men's Society (CYMS), Melbourne Telstars, Noarlunga Tigers, North Adelaide Rockets, St. Kilda Saints, Sutherland Sharks and West Adelaide Bearcats . The competition commenced on 19 June 1981 with the first game to be played in Adelaide between the AIS and West Adelaide. The competition was called the Women's Interstate Basketball Conference with each team paying
5358-466: The league continue to grow with Australia being awarded the Women's World Championships in 1994. The pressure was now on to ensure that women's basketball gained a profile in the country, and in 1993, the WNBL teams agreed to contribute some money to enable the game to be televised on a weekly basis by ABC. This was the break through that the sport needed and also coincided with the Sydney Kings taking over
5452-460: The league has remained, but gradually as the women's game has developed, the gulf in results has been reduced, and each year there have been more competitive games. Promotion from Division 2 has always reinforced the gap between the two leagues, as the winner of the Division 2 promotion play-offs has found the step-up difficult. The Division 2 play-offs take the top four teams from the North and South of
5546-440: The line into another area. The ball was moved from section to section by passing or dribbling, and players were limited to three dribbles and could only hold the ball for three seconds. No snatching or batting the ball away from another player was allowed. A center jump was required after each score. Variations of Berenson's rules spread across the country via YMCAs and women's colleges, where educated middle-class women were following
5640-456: The men's sport happens to be a contact sport in which the rule will not necessarily apply (McDonagh, Pappano, 2008). In 1978, colleges and universities were forced to apply Title IX's rules and regulations. Athletic departments had to adhere to one of three requirements which were the proportionality rule, the gender equity rule, or historical progress rule (McDonagh, Pappano, 2008). Each of these requirements addressed Title IX and its regulations in
5734-453: The mid-nineteenth century, they were able to participate in activities such as tennis and croquet in full-length skirts and corsets. However, similar attire was impractical for a more active sport like basketball, so the first trousers for women were worn. Initially loose and covered by a knee-length skirt, these early pants were replaced soon after by loose bloomers over stockings. Despite men being forbidden from watching these collegiate games,
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#17328758792485828-521: The most points at the conclusion of the regular season. The Coach of the Year Award is awarded to the coach that has made the most positive difference to a team. Also named are the All-Star Five, the most valuable and best performing players of each season. The WNBL has been a major stepping-stone for Australians to become noticed in European leagues and the WNBA in the United States. It has also attracted
5922-433: The national league's first dual Most Valuable Player award winner when she took the individual trophy in 1982 (the first season it was presented) and again in 1983. In 1982, the competition expanded into another state with the entry of a combined Brisbane team. The new revised program saw Victorian teams travelling to NSW and AIS, and NSW teams travelling to South Australia and South Australian teams travelling to Victoria. It
6016-402: The next 12 years. During the 1983 Australian Club Championships, a workshop was held to discuss women's basketball and from that meeting came the decision to bring together a second tier of clubs to form the Women's Basketball Conference (WBC). There were now 20 women's teams playing in a home and away competition, which immediately improved the standard of women's basketball in Australia. With
6110-614: The ownership of the Sydney Bruins and the formation of the Sydney Flames. Coached by Carrie Graf, the Flames became one of Australia's most popular women's sporting teams. The Perth Breakers led the way with the bodysuit in the early 1990s whilst the Flames continued to modify the suit, winning the title in 1993 and gaining back page coverage on the Sydney newspapers, a feat never envisaged back in
6204-429: The percentage of total college graduates who were women had increased to 36%, as colleges increased in number, size, and accessibility to larger portions of the population. The cultural significance of these college graduates exceeded their numbers, as college-educated women comprised the bulk of progressive professionals of their era. Women who played sports were able to craft a new image of femininity and athleticism, and
6298-403: The prevailing trend in men's games of playing intercollegiate sports. Early basketball was played with peach baskets and soccer balls, similarly to the men's game, but women's uniforms again reflected the Victorian culture of the times and were designed to be practical, yet maintain the woman athlete's dignity and femininity. While upper-class women had been playing sports at country clubs since
6392-429: The programs and earned financial support and popularity and did not want to throw that down the drain (McDonagh, Pappano, 2008). In 1974, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare issued Title IX regulations regarding intercollegiate athletics (McDonagh, Pappano, 2008). Title IX implies that if a school has a specific sport's team for boys then they must have a team in that same sport for girls. This will occur unless
6486-411: The quality of women's basketball. In 1985, the two competitions continued to work together to improve women's basketball and recognised the need to promote the competition and the individual clubs and athletes. Hobart was winners of the second conference and was keen to enter the main competition, however this was not to be until 1986. When Perth admitted a team for the 1986 Women's Basketball Conference,
6580-401: The sport being sponsored by all of the major college athletic associations: the NCAA , the NAIA , and the NCCAA for U.S. four-year schools; the NJCAA and CCCAA for U.S. two-year schools; the CCAA for Canadian colleges (equivalent to U.S. junior or community colleges); and U Sports for Canadian universities. NCAA Division I is considered the highest level of college competition, with
6674-475: The status of women in the home, and Berenson expressed concern about the women suffering from "nervous fatigue" if games were too strenuous for them. In order to keep it acceptable for women to play at all within Victorian ideals of refinement and gentility, she taught modified rules. She increased participation to nine players per team, and the court was divided into three areas. Three players were assigned to each area (guard, center, and forward) and could not cross
6768-743: The sum of $ 25 to be a part of the WIBC – giving a central fund of $ 200 to conduct the competition. The inaugural winner was St. Kilda who defeated the North Adelaide Rockets 77–58. St. Kilda also went on to win the Victorian State Championship and the Australian Club Championship in Melbourne, defeating Bankstown Bruins in the final. St. Kilda had three Australian representatives in Tracy Morris, Karen Ogden and Patricia Cockrem . Ogden became
6862-461: The team in February 2010 following the death of her brother. She became the captain of the Capitals at the start of the 2010/2011 season, taking over the position vacated by Kellie Abrams . Bibby has been part Capitals teams that won WNBL Championships during the 2006/2007 season, 2008/2009 season, and during the 2009/2010 season. In the 2006/2007 finals game, she scored 11 points while not being one of
6956-401: The team's starting five players. Bibby was drafted during the third round of the 2000 draft. She was selected 45th overall. Bibby played her first game in the WNBA in 2000 for the New York Liberty . She played while dealing with severe back pain. Her number with the team was 11. Bibby had 58 caps for the junior national team. As part of the 1997 team, she helped the Australian side capture
7050-527: The team. In a December 2007 game, she scored 22 points in a game against Bulleen. During the 2009/2010 season, she averaged 14.5 points per game. In an October 2009 game, she scored 22 points in a game against the Adelaide Lightning . In a January 2010 game, she made an important two-point shot near the end of the game that helped her team win a game against the Bulleen Boomers . She took a week off from
7144-401: The three-point distance is 22 ft 1.75 in (6.7501 m) for most of the width of the court, with a minimum distance of 1 yd (0.91 m) from the sidelines. The WNBA, FIBA, and NCAA all use a block/charge arc near each basket, with the NCAA using an arc identical to the radius of the basket, the WNBA setting it at 4 ft (1.2 m) from the center of the basket and FIBA using
7238-618: The time a women's only sport broadly derived from basketball, which evolved in parallel with modern women's basketball . The first professional women's basketball team were the All American Red Heads . They were founded by C. M. "Ole" Olson in 1936. The popularity of women's basketball grew steadily around the world for decades. By the 1970s, the sport had attracted the notice of the International Olympic Committee , which added women's basketball as an official sport of
7332-527: The two women's leagues could rightfully claim that between them they had a truly national competition. The Australian Basketball Federation approved the WBL's application to be renamed the National Women's Basketball League and a new era was underway. 1986 was also the first year that the WNBL played its first full home and away competition and next year, Perth sought a position in the national league. Perth's inclusion
7426-679: The winner of the annual Division I championship game declared "national champion". There have been professional leagues established in numerous countries. Women's basketball has been contested in the Summer Olympics since 1976 . In addition to the Olympics and Women's World Cup, women's basketball is also contested in the Pan American Games and the Central American and Caribbean Games . Women's basketball made its first appearance at
7520-655: The women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association , and league play began in 1997. The regular WNBA season is June to September (North American Spring and Summer). Most WNBA teams play at the same venue as their NBA counterparts. Most team names are also very similar to those of NBA teams in the same market, such as the Washington Wizards and Washington Mystics , the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx . Officially approved by
7614-422: The workforce and seeking paid jobs outside the home, were at a health-related disadvantage to men, which she saw as limiting women's opportunities and the possibility for equal wages. For much of the early 20th century, other coaches and administrators felt similarly, due in part to an increasing sentiment that men's college sports were becoming too commercialized and exploitive of the athletes. The women's branch of
7708-447: Was a member of the QBL 's Gladstone Port City Power that won their third championship in three years. In a game that season, she came first in the scoring with 50 points, 8 points ahead of the second highest scorer and Capitals teammate Rebecca Haynes who scored 42. Bibby started playing in the WNBL in 1996. In her debut season with the league, she was named the WNBL's Betty Watson Rookie of
7802-725: Was a women's basketball league in the Philippines The Women's Korean Basketball League ( WKBL ) is the premier women's basketball league in South Korea The Women's Super Basketball League is the highest women's professional club basketball competition in Republic of China Before the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , the Russian Women's Basketball Premier League was the dominant league in Europe (largely because it
7896-515: Was decided to approach three Victorian teams (St Kilda, CYMS and Nunawading) with the idea of forming a home and away Interstate Competition. The six teams' delegates all met and confirmed the new League at the Town and Country Motel in Sydney during the 1980 Australian Club Championships. The meeting resolved to form a two-round competition between these teams to be held in July and August in 1981. The basis for
7990-441: Was eliminating this discrimination in academic and educational processes. “Title IX is today generally viewed as having fixed the problem of gender inequality of sports, at least in educational settings” (McDonagh, Pappano, 2008, 79). It started out as simply involving education but then shifted in a debate to sports. Some groups such as the NCAA fought to keep things the way they were in reference to men's sports. The NCAA had built up
8084-450: Was founded in 1978 as the Women's Basketball League . The WBL competed for three seasons, launching in 1979 with 8 teams. The league expanded to 14 teams in 1980. Financial issues, poor marketing, and the cancelation of America's participation in the 1980 Summer Olympic Games severely impacted the league's viability, and it collapsed at the end of its third season in 1981. The next major development in women's basketball occurred in 1982 when
8178-528: Was founded in 1981 as a way for the best women's basketball teams in the various Australian States to compete against each other on a regular basis. Today the WNBL is the premier women's basketball league in Australia. One of the major important events in the development of women's basketball in the United States was Title IX . Title IX was passed in 1972 to end sexual discrimination and stereotyping in admission to colleges and also in academic subjects ( McDonagh , Pappano, 2008). Therefore, Congress' original goal
8272-414: Was founded in 1996 during an increase in the interest in the sport following the 1996 Summer Olympics . The league played two full seasons (1996–97 and 1997–98) and started a third (1998–99) before it folded on 22 December 1998. The Women's National Basketball Association or WNBA is an organization governing a professional basketball league for women in the United States . The WNBA was formed in 1996 as
8366-582: Was general manager of the men's NBL. In 1989, the WNBL gained its first sponsorship in Pony , one of Australia's leading sporting apparel companies at the time for $ 258,000 and ABC agreed to cover the finals series. The women's game in Australia was on the move – there were 13 teams in the WNBL for the 1989 season, with the Bankstown Bruins changing their name to the Sydney Bruins to try to gain more market exposure in Australia's largest city. The next few years saw
8460-417: Was introduced for NCAA play in the fall of 1984. The regulation WNBA ball is a minimum 28.5 inches (72.4 cm) in circumference, which is one inch (2.54 cm) smaller than the NBA ball. This is a standard size 6 ball. As of 2008, this size is used for all senior-level women's competitions worldwide. The standard court size in U.S. college and WNBA play is 94 by 50 feet (28.65 by 15.24 m), while
8554-472: Was not a full home and away competition but the beginnings of what was to come in the future. The competition also changed its name to the more appropriate Women's Basketball League. St. Kilda repeated in 1982 with a grand final win over Bankstown – the men's team also won the first two NBL titles, which showed the strength of St. Kilda at that time. In 1983, Nunawading Spectres led by Robyn Maher easily defeated St. Kilda and went on to win nine WNBL titles during
8648-479: Was on the basis that they paid their own airfares in the first two years to earn their position. Following the success of the Seoul Olympics, the WNBL was ready to enter a new era and appointed Lyn Palmer in the newly created full-time general manager position. Lyn Palmer, who had just retired after a distinguished playing career with St. Kilda, Nunawading and Coburg, was looking for a change whilst her husband Bill
8742-513: Was televised with Old Dominion University defeating Louisiana Tech University. Thereafter the Women's Final Four has been televised as an annual event. The recent Iowa-UConn women's Final Four match in April 2024 was the most-watched basketball game in ESPN history with an audience peak at 17 million and is expected to feature as one of the top 50 primetime telecasts of 2024. In the most recent 2024 season,
8836-583: Was the main attraction of the WNBA players during the off-season). Other notable leagues are the Italian Serie A1 , the Spanish Liga Femenina and the Turkish Super League . In England, the Women's English Basketball League is a semi-professional and amateur competition. The league has grown steadily over recent years, and has now reached a level of thirty national league sides. The league
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