WMLBA

The Women's Minor League Basketball Association (WMLBA) was  a women's professional basketball league in North America. It was initially founded in 2016, although the initial playing season began in 2017. The season ran from June through August.[1]

Women’s’ Minor League Basketball Association
SportBasketball
FoundedApril 8, 2016
Inaugural season2017
PresidentKre’Tonia Morgan
CommissionerJanell Burse
MottoIt’s Our Time
No. of teams8
CountryUnited States
ContinentAmericas
Most recent
champion(s)		Dallas Lightning
Most titlesDallas Lightning (3)

History

In 2015, Janell Burse and Kre’Tonia Morgan formed the Women's Minor League Basketball Association.[2] With plenty of basketball experience, Burse acts as the WMLBA Commissioner. The Louisiana native played four years for Tulane University before her pro career with the Minnesota Lynx and Seattle Storm of the WNBA, and Wisla Can-Pack Kraków in Poland. A native of Mississippi, Morgan is the President of Business Operations.

The league initially planned to begin play in 2016,[3] but the first season of competition was in 2017. The regular season began in June culminating in a championship game in August between the Tennessee Storm and the Dallas Lightning, won by Dallas 76–71.[4]

The league announced on January 3, 2020 that is was ceasing operations.[5]

Teams
Current teams
Team City Joined WMLBA
Carolina Stars Columbia, SC 2017[6]
Dallas Lightning Dallas, TX 2017
Georgia Classic Evans, GA 2017
Houston Galaxy Houston, TX 2017[7][8]
Nashville Charge Nashville, TN 2017[9]
Oklahoma Warriors Muskogee, OK 2019[10]
San Antonio Troopers San Antonio, TX 2017
Tennessee Storm Jackson, TN 2017

Former member teams
  • Fort Worth Elite (2018)
  • Midwest Reign (2017)[11]

Champions
WMLBA championship history
Season Champion Runner-up Result
2017 Dallas Lightning Tennessee Storm 76-71
2018 Dallas Lightning San Antonio Troopers 77-70
2019 Dallas Lightning Oklahoma Warriors 113-62

References
  1. "Carolina Stars To Fill Pro Women's Basketball Void". WLTX. October 15, 2017.
  2. "WMLBA: A New Opportunity Arises for Potential Professional Women's Basketball Player". HERO Sports. March 30, 2017.
  3. "#ThePostUp Podcast 7/18/16: Janell Burse, now a successful businesswoman, helps chart course for new pro league". Hoopfeed.com. July 18, 2016.
  4. "Dallas Lighting Win Inaugural WMLBA Championship – The Women's Sports Network". The Women's Sports Network. August 7, 2017.
  5. "WMLBA on Twitter". Twitter. January 3, 2020.
  6. "Carolina Stars Hold Tryouts For New WMLBA Team". WLTX. April 30, 2017.
  7. "Pearland women's basketball team, Houston Galaxy, makes debut in homecourt game". Community Impact Newspaper. July 12, 2017.
  8. "Sisters excited to lead women's basketball team". Houston Chronicle. June 15, 2018.
  9. "Nashville gets women's minor league basketball team". Tennessean. May 28, 2016.
  10. "Coming attraction: Minor league women's basketball planned for Civic Center run". Muskogee Daily Phoenix. April 17, 2019.
  11. "Ex-KU forward Jeff Graves embarks on adventure with Midwest Reign women's hoops team". Kansas City Star. June 25, 2017.

Women's Minor League Basketball Association Twitter

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