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.
In United States colleges and universities, basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA), the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), and the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA). Each of these various organizations is subdivided into one to three divisions, based on the number and level of scholarships that may be provided to the athletes. Teams with more talent tend to win over teams with less talent.
The WNBA draft is an annual draft held by the WNBA through which WNBA teams can select new players from a talent pool of college and professional women's basketball players. The first WNBA draft was held in 1997.
Candace Nicole Parker nicknamed "Ace", is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Widely regarded as one of the greatest WNBA players of all time, she was selected as the first overall pick in the 2008 WNBA draft by the Los Angeles Sparks. She spent 13 seasons on the Sparks, two seasons with the Chicago Sky, and as of 2023 has spent one season with the Las Vegas Aces, winning a championship with each team.
Violet Renice Palmer is a retired American basketball referee in the NBA and WNBA and the first female official to reach the highest competitive tier in any major U.S. professional sports league. She also earned recognition as a member of two NCAA Division II women's championship basketball teams. Palmer was the first woman to officiate an NBA playoff game when she did so in the April 25, 2006 match between the Indiana Pacers and New Jersey Nets. In the NBA, Palmer wore uniform number 12. She retired in 2016.
Kathryn Elizabeth Douglas is an American former professional basketball player. Her primary position was shooting guard, her secondary was small forward. She was known league-wide as one of the most prominent two-way players for her long-range shooting and high scoring abilities on offense as well as her defensive abilities.
Valerie B. Ackerman is an American sports executive, former lawyer, and former basketball player. She is the current commissioner of the Big East Conference. She is best known for being the first president of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), serving from 1996 to 2005. She was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011 and the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021.
Ruth Ellen Riley Hunter is a retired American professional basketball player, playing most recently for the Atlanta Dream in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Her Notre Dame team won the NCAA women's championship in 2001, and her Detroit Shock team won the WNBA championship in 2003 and 2006. Riley was the Most Valuable Player in the 2001 and 2003 championship series, becoming the first person to win the MVP awards in both the NCAA and the WNBA championships. She has also played on teams that won the National Women's Basketball League (NWBL) championship, the gold medal at the Olympic Games, and the 2010 EuroCup Championship. In 2019, Riley was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.
Paul William Westhead is an American retired basketball coach. He was the head coach for three National Basketball Association (NBA) teams and an assistant for four others, and also coached in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), American Basketball Association (ABA), and Japan Basketball League (JBL). In his first year as an NBA head coach, he led a rookie Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers to the 1980 NBA Finals, which they won in six games for the team's first title in eight years. Westhead won titles in both the NBA and WNBA, and he is also remembered as the coach of the Loyola Marymount University (LMU) men's basketball team. Westhead is known for an unorthodox, run-and-gun style called "The System.” He was nicknamed "The Professor" due to his former career as an English teacher prior to coaching and his tendency to quote Shakespeare and other literary sources while coaching. He attended Saint Joseph's University.
In basketball, a field goal is a basket scored on any shot or tap other than a free throw, worth two or three points depending on the location of the attempt on the basket. Uncommonly, a field goal can be worth other values such as one point in FIBA 3x3 basketball competitions or four points in the BIG3 basketball league. "Field goal" is the official terminology used by the National Basketball Association (NBA) in their rule book, in their box scores and statistics, and in referees' rulings. The same term is also the official wording used by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and high school basketball.
Robert J. Delaney is a former undercover New Jersey state trooper and professional basketball referee in the National Basketball Association (NBA) who officiated from the 1987–88 NBA season up until the 2010–
The following are the basketball events of the year 2010 throughout the world.
Chinenye "Chiney" Ogwumike is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). In 2020, she became the first Black woman and the first WNBA player to host a national radio show for ESPN. She was one of the first and youngest commentators ever to be named an NBA analyst for the network covering the NBA, WNBA, and variety of sports, while simultaneously playing in the WNBA. Chiney is a graduate of Stanford University, where she majored in International relations. She played in three Final Fours and finished as the conference leader in scoring and rebounding as of January 3, 2014. As of 2016, Ogwumike was elected Vice-President of the WNBA Players Association, and signed an endorsement deal with Adidas. In May 2018, Ogwumike signed a multi-year contract with ESPN to become a full-time basketball analyst.
Andrea Congreaves is a British former basketball player born in Epsom, Surrey who played professionally for the women's England's national team while also playing in the United States, France, Italy, Spain, Turkey and Britain throughout her career. She is the former head coach of the Rhondda Rebels of the English Women's Basketball League, and the current head coach of the Mansfield Giants of the English Basketball League as well as the women's team of the University of Nottingham.
Dee Kantner is a women's basketball referee for the National Collegiate Athletic Association since 1984. Kantner started with the Southern Conference before appearing in the Atlantic Coast Conference and Southeastern Conference throughout the 1990s. With the NCAA, Kantner has refereed for various Final Four and championship games since 1992.
Jonathan Sterling is a professional basketball referee in the National Basketball Association (NBA), wearing number 17. Sterling also played college basketball at Flagler College where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management. Sterling previously refereed six NBA Development League seasons, three WNBA seasons and eight NCAA seasons before becoming a full-time referee for the 2017–18 NBA season. Sterling was raised in Satellite Beach, Florida. In June 2017, Sterling married NBA referee Lauren Holtkamp. On October 18, 2017, Sterling made his NBA official debut refereeing a regular season contest between Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz at Vivint Arena.
Ashley Moyer-Gleich is an American professional basketball referee in the National Basketball Association (NBA), wearing number 13. Moyer-Gleich became the fourth woman to be a full-time NBA referee. Moyer-Gleich played college basketball at Millersville University in Millersville, Pennsylvania. Moyer-Gleich previously refereed in NBA Gatorade League for two seasons and the 2018 WNBA season before becoming a full-time referee for the 2018-19 NBA season. On October 22, 2018, Moyer-Gleich made her NBA official debut refereeing a regular season contest between Indiana Pacers and Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center. On November 15, 2018, the NBA announced that Moyer-Gleich was promoted to a full-time member of the league's officiating staff which she previously officiated three regular-season games and two preseason games as a non-staff referee.
Natalie Sago is a professional basketball referee in the National Basketball Association (NBA), wearing number 9. Sago is the fifth woman to become a full-time NBA referee.
Tyler Ford is an American professional basketball referee in the National Basketball Association (NBA), wearing number 39. As of the 2020-21 NBA season Ford has officiated 333 regular-season games and 15 playoff games. He is in his seventh season as an NBA referee.
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