The 1979–80 WBL season was the 2nd season of the Women's Professional Basketball League. The season ended with the New York Stars winning the WBL Championship, beating the Iowa Cornets 3 games to 1 in the WBL Finals.
The league was divided into three divisions, with the New Jersey Gems, New York Stars St. Louis Streak, Washington Metros and the Philadelphia Fox in the Eastern Division, the Iowa Cornets, Minnesota Fillies, Chicago Hustle and the Milwaukee Does in the Midwest and the Houston Angels, San Francisco Pioneers, California Dreams and the Dallas Diamonds in the West. Struggling financially, Philadelphia and Washington both disbanded after 10 games.
Notable occurrences In June, former NBA player Dean Meminger was hired as the head coach of the New York Stars. Pat Colasurdo Mayo was selected with the first pick in the 1979 WBL draft by the San Francisco Pioneers. Former NBA coach Larry Costello was hired as the head coach of the Milwaukee Does. After sitting out the 1978–79 season and participating in the Indiana Pacers training camp, Ann Meyers signed with the New Jersey Gems in November. The season debut was on 15 November 1979, where the New York Stars defeated the New Orleans Pride, 120–112, before a record crowd of 8,452 in the Louisiana Superdome. On 26 November, Janie Fincher of the Chicago Hustle was traded to the Washington Metros for two third-round draft picks and an undisclosed amount of cash. As Chicago's most popular player, the trade turned out to be a very unpopular move with Chicago's fans, with many turning in their season tickets afterwards. Due to the uproar, the Hustle tried to get the trade voided but could not do so before the Metros folded with Fincher going into a dispersal draft with the other Metros players. Despite having a chance to select her with the 4th pick, the team traded the pick to the Iowa Cornets for Denise Sharps, and Fincher was then selected with the fifth pick by the St. Louis Streak. The Hustle however, then traded Adrian Mitchell to the Streak for "Future considerations" which turned out to be Fincher, and she returned to Chicago before the end of the month. On December 19, Liz Silcott scored 50 points for the St. Louis Streak in a 93–90 win against the Minnesota Fillies. On January 13, 1980, Molly Bolin, of the Iowa Cornets, broke her own WBL single game scoring record of 53 points when she scored 54 in a 109–93 win against the Minnesota Fillies. Two months later, on March 2, 1980, she broke the record again, scoring 55 points in another win against the Fillies despite dislocating her left shoulder early in the second quarter. That game, she also became the first WBL player to break the 1,000 point barrier in a single season.
Standings # Eastern Division Team 1z-New York Stars 28 7 .800 –2x-New Orleans Pride 21 13 .618 6.53New Jersey Gems 19 17 .528 9.54St. Louis Streak 15 21 .417 13.55Washington Metros 3 7 .300 ...6Philadelphia Fox 2 8 .200 ... # Midwest Division Team 1z-Iowa Cornets 24 12 .667 –2x-Minnesota Fillies 22 12 .647 13Chicago Hustle 17 19 .472 74Milwaukee Does 10 24 .294 13 # Western Division Team 1z-Houston Angels 19 14 .576 –2x-San Francisco Pioneers 18 18 .500 2.53California Dreams 11 18 .393 64Dallas Diamonds 7 28 .200 13 Notes z – division champions x – clinched playoff spot
Playoffs
Statistics leaders + Category Player Team Stat Points per game Molly Bolin Iowa Cornets 32.8 Rebounds per game Doris Draving Iowa Cornets 14.9 Assists per game Janice Thomas New York Stars 8.6 Steals per game Ann Meyers New Jersey Gems 4.9 Blocks per game Bertha Hardy New Orleans Pride 2.7
WBL awards Co-Most Valuable Players: Ann Meyers, New Jersey Gems, and Molly Bolin, Iowa Cornets Coach of the Year: Dean Meminger, New York Stars
All-Pro team Molly Bolin (Iowa) Ann Meyers (New Jersey) Rita Easterling (Chicago) Charlene McWhorter (Chicago) Alfreda Abernathy (Dallas) Paula Mayo (Houston) Doris Draving (Iowa) Heidi Nestor (Milwaukee) Marie Kocurek (Minnesota) Bertha Hardy (New Orleans) Sharon Farrah (New York) Janice Thomas (New York) Adrian Mitchell (St. Louis) Pat Mayo (San Francisco) Anita Ortega (San Francisco) Source
References