Portland Power (basketball)

Portland Power
Founded 1996
Folded 1998
League American Basketball League
Team history 1996-1998 (2 seasons)
Based in Portland, Oregon
Arena Memorial Coliseum (capacity 10,934)
Colors Blue and Green
Head coach Greg Bruce (1996)
Lin Dunn (1997-1998)
Missy Bequette (assistant coach)[1]
Manager Linda Weston (General Manager)[1]
Championships none
Division titles one Conference title

The Portland Power was a women's professional basketball team in the American Basketball League (ABL) based in Portland, Oregon. The Power began play in 1996, and disbanded when the ABL folded at the end of 1998.

1996-97 season

The Power's first head coach was Greg Bruce, who had previously been the head women's basketball coach at Portland State. The Power's first roster included:

The Power got off to a miserable start, going 5-17 under Bruce, who resigned on New Year's Day 1997 and was replaced by former Purdue coach Lin Dunn.[2] Under Dunn, the Power managed to go 9-9 the rest of the first season, and finished last in the Western Conference.

1997-98 season

In their second season, the Power showed much improvement. The team acquired Sylvia Crawley from North Carolina's 1994 national championship team and Delisha Milton from Florida among other players, and won the Western Conference. Coach Dunn was named ABL Coach of the Year, and Williams was named the league's MVP.[3] In the playoffs, the team met the conference runner-up, the Long Beach Stingrays, and lost 2 games to 0.[4]

1998-99 season

For their third season, the Power acquired Steding's former Stanford teammate, point guard Sonja Henning. Though they got off to a slow start, the Power was leading the Western Conference after completing a five-game win streak when the ABL abruptly folded due to financial difficulties on December 22, 1998.

At the time of their demise, the Power's starting lineup was:[5]

After the franchise folded, many Power players went on to continue their careers in the WNBA.

Team records

Season W L Win % Result
1996-97 14 26 .350 4th Place, Western Conference[6]
1997-98 27 17 .614 Western Conference Champion[7]
1998 9 4 .692 1st Place, Western Conference[5]

1997-98 playoff results

Date Result
February 27, 1998at Long Beach 72, Portland 62
March 1, 1998Long Beach 70, at Portland 69
Long Beach wins series, 2-0[4]

ABL statistical leaders

1997-98 season:[8]

1998 season (partial):[9]

Rosters

1996-97 1997-98[10] 1998-99[11]

All-Star players

League honors

References

  1. 1 2 "ABL Teams". ABL Tribute. Archived from the original on 2009-10-26. Retrieved 2007-04-23.
  2. ↑ "Power's Bruce resigns". The Oregonian. January 2, 1997.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "1998 League Awards". ABL Tribute. Archived from the original on 2005-08-10. Retrieved 2007-04-23.
  4. 1 2 "ABL Playoffs 1997-98". Infoplease.com. Retrieved 2007-04-23.
  5. 1 2 "ABL-Portland Power". CNNSI.com. Retrieved 2007-04-23.
  6. ↑ "Final ABL Standings 1996-97". Infoplease.com. Retrieved 2007-04-23.
  7. ↑ "Final ABL Standings 1997-98". Infoplease.com. Retrieved 2007-04-23.
  8. ↑ "ABL Regular Season Individual Leaders 1997-98". Infoplease.com. Retrieved 2007-04-23.
  9. ↑ "'98-'99 ABL Player Statistics". finchhaven.com. Retrieved 2007-04-23.
  10. ↑ "Portland Power 1997-98 Statistics". CNNSI.com. Retrieved 2007-04-23.
  11. ↑ "Portland Power 1998-99 Roster". CNNSI.com. Retrieved 2007-04-23.
  12. ↑ "1997 League Awards". ABL Tribute. Archived from the original on 2005-08-10. Retrieved 2007-04-23.
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