The American Basketball League, often abbreviated to the ABL of 1996 was a professional women's basketball league in the United States. At the same time the ABL was being formed, the National Basketball Association (NBA) was creating the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The ABL began league competition in the Fall of 1996, while the WNBA launched its first game in June 1997. Both organizations came into existence during a surge in popularity for women's basketball in the United States that followed the perfect 35–0 national championship season for the Connecticut Huskies in 1995 and the undefeated, gold medal-winning performance of the United States Women's basketball team at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Rebecca Lynn Hammon is a Russian-American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She previously served as an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A three-time All-American basketball player for the Colorado State Rams, Hammon went on to play for the San Antonio Stars and New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for several other teams outside the United States. Hammon was born and raised in the United States, but she became a naturalized Russian citizen in 2008 and represented the Russian national team in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.
Yolanda Evette Griffith is an American professional basketball hall of fame player who played in both the ABL and WNBA. A former WNBA MVP, she is considered one of the greatest rebounders and defensive players in the history of Women's Basketball. She last played in the WNBA as a member of the Indiana Fever. In 2011, she was voted in by fans as one of the top 15 players in WNBA history. She is sometimes called by her nicknames: "Yo" and "Yo-Yo". Since retiring from the professional ranks, Griffith was as assistant coach at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is currently an assistant coach with the Boston College Eagles. Griffith was inducted into the 2014 Women's Basketball Hall of Fame's class on her first year of eligibility.
Tari L. Phillips is an American former professional women's basketball player. Her cousin Tayyiba Haneef-Park played for USA Volleyball.
A dispersal draft is a process in professional sports for assigning players to a new team when their current team ceases to exist or is merged with another team. Like most other sports drafts, most dispersal drafts are conducted in North America.
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.
Donnette Jé-Michelle Snow is a retired American professional basketball player who played most recently in the Turkish Women's Basketball League.
The Colorado Chill were a professional women's basketball team playing in the National Women's Basketball League (NWBL) from 2004 to 2006. Based in Loveland, Colorado. They were Colorado's second and longest-lived women's pro basketball team. The Chill won the final two championships of the NWBL, which folded in 2007.
The San Diego Siege was a women's professional basketball team in the now defunct National Women's Basketball League (NWBL). Based in San Diego, California, they played only one season, during February and March 2006. They finished the regular season 14-4, earning the number one playoff seed. They defeated San Francisco in the semi-final and lost to Colorado in the NWBL Championship for a 15-5 record.
The Colorado Xplosion was the first women's professional basketball franchise in Colorado, an American Basketball League (ABL) team based in Denver. Playing from 1996 through 1998, the team produced many memorable moments for Colorado sports fans and followers of women's professional basketball in general.
The Maryland Terrapins women's basketball are an American basketball team. The team represents the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I competition. Maryland, a founding member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), left the ACC in 2014 to join the Big Ten Conference. The program won the 2006 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament championship and has appeared in the NCAA Final Four five times ; Maryland also appeared once in the AIAW Final Four (1978). As members of the ACC, the Terrapins won regular season conference championships and an ACC-record ten conference tournament championships. The program won the Big Ten Conference regular season and tournament championships in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020, and 2021.
Mfon Sunday Udoka is a Nigerian-American former professional basketball player who is an assistant coach for the Nigeria women's national basketball team, the D'Tigress. Born in Portland, Oregon, Udoka graduated from Benson Polytechnic High School (1994) in Portland before attending DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois from 1994 to 1998. She is the older sister of coach and former NBA player Ime Udoka.
The Women's Basketball Development Association (WBDA) is a professional development female basketball league.
Fred Williams is an American basketball coach who is currently the associate head coach for the Auburn Tigers women's basketball team.
Valeria Olivia Whiting is a former collegiate and professional basketball player. She played center for the Stanford Cardinal women's basketball during her four years of pre-med study at Stanford. Among other collegiate honors, she was named Pac-10 Women's Basketball Player of the Year two years in a row. She also played for several USA National teams as well as professional women's basketball teams.
Nekeshia Shiondrail Henderson is an American former professional basketball guard who played for the Houston Comets of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball at Texas. She also played for the San Jose Lasers and Colorado Xplosion of the American Basketball League (ABL).
Keisha Anderson is an American basketball player. As a high school senior at Park High School in Racine, Wisconsin she received Miss Wisconsin Basketball and Parade All American.
Candi Harvey is a basketball coach at John B. Connally High School since 2012. Harvey began her head coaching career with Robert E. Lee High School from 1980 to 1984 before becoming an assistant coach at Stephen F. Austin University. From 1990 to 1998, Harvey was the head coach of the Tulane Green Wave women's basketball team and Texas A&M Aggies women's basketball team for four years each. With the Aggies, Harvey and her team won the 1995 National Women's Invitational Tournament and reached the first round of the 1996 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament. In 1998, Harvey briefly worked in the American Basketball League as the coach of the Nashville Noise before the ABL closed the same year.
Tiffani Tamara Johnson is an American former professional basketball player. She played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) for the Sacramento Monarchs, Houston Comets and Seattle Storm. Johnson won a WNBA championship with the Comets in 2000. She played college basketball for the Tennessee Lady Volunteers and won two NCAA championships in 1996 and 1997.
Kelley Gibson is an assistant basketball coach with the University of Miami since 2020. During her assistant coaching experience from the 2000s to 2010s, Gibson has worked with various universities such as the University of Maine, Syracuse University, and Rutgers University Before becoming a coach, Gibson played basketball at Easton High School during the early 1990s. With Easton, Gibson and her team won the 1A championships held by the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association in 1993 and 1994. During her time at Easton, Gibson had over 2,200 points and 1,000 rebounds.
