Women's National Basketball League

Infobox sports league
logo=
pixels=200x244px
sport=Basketball
founded=1981
teams=10
country=flagcountry|AUS
flagcountry|NZL
champion=Adelaide Lightning
website= [http://www.wnbl.com.au/ WNBL.com]

The Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) is the premier women's basketball league in Australia.

The league was established in 1986, following 5 years of the sport's development through the Women’s Basketball League and the Women’s Basketball Conference. WNBL games are televised on the ABC and ABC2.

There are currently 10 teams in the WNBL with all Australian states and territories represented, with the exceptions of Tasmania and the Northern Territory:
*Adelaide Lightning
*Australian Institute of Sport
*Bulleen Melbourne Boomers
*Canberra Capitals
*Dandenong Rangers
*Perth Lynx
*Sydney Uni Flames [http://www.wnbl.com.au/index.php?id=15 ·]
*Townsville Fire
*Bendigo Spirit [http://www.bendigospirit.com.au/fs_home.asp]
*Logan Thunder

The 2007/2008 season saw the addition of two new teams: the Bendigo Spirit, and the Christchurch Sirens, which is the first franchise from outside of Australia.

The 2008/09 season will see the addition of a team from Logan, Queensland. They will be the first team from South-East Queensland in over 10 years.

The league has been successful in developing players, the national team (the Opals), and has led to many Australian women receiving contracts to play basketball in European leagues and the WNBA. Michele Timms was the first Australian woman and the first international player drafted in the WNBA. Among the other notable players to make the transition from the WNBL to the WNBA are Lauren Jackson, Penny Taylor-Gil, and Tully Bevilaqua; those who have gone the other direction include American star Alana Beard. In fact, as the seasons do not overlap, players can participate in both leagues in the same year.

2007/08 Ladder

League Grand Finals

* 2008 (8 March): Adelaide Lightning 92 def Sydney Uni Flames 82.
* 2007 (17 February): Canberra Capitals 73 def Sydney Uni Flames 59.
* 2006 (18 February): Canberra Capitals 68 def Dandenong Rangers 55 - Lauren Jackson (Capitals) was game high scorer with 24pt

Complete list of WNBL Grand Final winners

External links

* [http://www.wnbl.com.au/ Official WNBL website]
* [http://www.abc.net.au/wnbl/ WNBL on ABC website]