# 1979–80 WBL season

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 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 | Eastern Division | Eastern Division | Eastern Division | Eastern Division |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
| 1 | z-New York Stars | 28 | 7 | .800 | – |
| 2 | x-New Orleans Pride | 21 | 13 | .618 | 6.5 |
| 3 | New Jersey Gems | 19 | 17 | .528 | 9.5 |
| 4 | St. Louis Streak | 15 | 21 | .417 | 13.5 |
| 5 | Washington Metros | 3 | 7 | .300 | ... |
| 6 | Philadelphia Fox | 2 | 8 | .200 | ... |
| # | Midwest Division | Midwest Division | Midwest Division | Midwest Division | Midwest Division |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
| 1 | z-Iowa Cornets | 24 | 12 | .667 | – |
| 2 | x-Minnesota Fillies | 22 | 12 | .647 | 1 |
| 3 | Chicago Hustle | 17 | 19 | .472 | 7 |
| 4 | Milwaukee Does | 10 | 24 | .294 | 13 |
| # | Western Division | Western Division | Western Division | Western Division | Western Division |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
| 1 | z-Houston Angels | 19 | 14 | .576 | – |
| 2 | x-San Francisco Pioneers | 18 | 18 | .500 | 2.5 |
| 3 | California Dreams | 11 | 18 | .393 | 6 |
| 4 | Dallas Diamonds | 7 | 28 | .200 | 13 |
Notes
* z – division champions
* x – clinched playoff spot

## Playoffs

| Quarter finals | Quarter finals |
| Houston Angels | 1 |
| San Francisco Pioneers | 2 |
| Quarter finals | Quarter finals |
| Minnesota Fillies | 2 |
| New Orleans Pride | 1 |
| Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals |
| New York Stars | 2 | | |
| San Francisco Pioneers | 0 | | |
| San Francisco Pioneers | 0 | New York Stars | 3 |
| | | Iowa Cornets | 1 |
| Iowa Cornets | 2 | Iowa Cornets | 1 |
| Minnesota Fillies | 1 | | |

## 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 homas (New York)
* Adrian Mitchell (St. Louis)
* Pat Mayo (San Francisco)
* Anita Ortega (San Francisco)
Source