WBL

WBL All-Star Molly Bolin is pictured shooting the basketball against the backdrop of a banner that reads "Pioneers." She is wearing the team's blue, yellow and white uniform.

Aptly named, professional women’s basketball in Bay Area began with Pioneers

By Tee Baker / October 14, 2023

The legacy of the the San Francisco Pioneers

A black and white photograph of the WBL team Chicago Hustle shows the players piled on the floor smiling and laughing.

The story of the first Women’s Professional Basketball League draft

By Kiri Oler / September 2, 2023

Ann Meyers, Rita Easterling, Lusia Harris and other women’s basketball legends were selected in a groundbreaking draft in 1978

Kathy DeBoer, Suzy Merchant and Karen Langeland pose for a photo after DeBoer and Langeland were inducted into the Michigan State Athletics' Hall of Fame. DeBoer and Langeland are wearing green Michigan State jackets and Merchant is wearing a black top and black blazer.

Former WBL player Kathy DeBoer has always fought for women’s sports

By Tee Baker / August 26, 2023

In her dual-sport career, DeBoer filed a Title IX lawsuit as a college student, played professional basketball and coached college volleyball

Locked on Women’s Basketball: 1976 silver medalist and Naismith Hall of Famer Gail Marquis talks Olympics, WBL and HOF

By The Next / August 23, 2023

Gail recaps the ceremony and discusses her favorite basketball memories with Natalie Heavren

Members of the If Not for Them team post for a photograph in front of the Locked on Women's Basketball branded backdrop. Screenshots of Natalie and Brenda on the podcast are pictured to the right side of the If Not for Them photograph.

Locked On Women’s Basketball: If Not For Them docuseries shines a light on decades of history

By The Next / June 2, 2023

Natalie and executive producer Brenda VanLengen discuss the upcoming project that explores the history of women’s basketball

Six women sit on stage. The woman second from the left holds a microphone in her hand while answering the question she was asked.

If Not For Them showcases decades of women’s basketball history

By Natalie Heavren / May 31, 2023

‘It didn’t just happen that all of a sudden, girls could play in front of TV cameras and have 10 million people watch them in the final’

Locked on Women’s Basketball: Intersection of AIAW, Title IX and WBL Trailblazers with Elizabeth Galloway-McQuitter

By The Next / April 1, 2023

Elizabeth Galloway-McQuitter from Legends of the Ball spoke about the importance of knowing the history of the game — WBL and Title IX

Gail Marquis was destined to move women’s basketball forward

By Kiri Oler / March 24, 2023

‘I understand my role was to keep pushing the game forward’

Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL) Linnell Jones-McKenney accepts a trophy.

How Linnell Jones-McKenney made her hoop dreams come true

By Kiri Oler / February 21, 2023

Jones-McKenney’s story reads like a myth, but she is a legend

Lisa Thomas poses with ring and commemorative ball honoring her 2018 Women's Basketball Hall of Fame induction.

How Lisa Thomas grew from well-rounded athlete to well-rounded human

By Kiri Oler / January 27, 2023

Thomas blazed a trail uniquely her own, propping the door open for women in three arenas where the door is too frequently closed