Portland Power (basketball)

Infobox Sports team
team = Portland Power
color1 = #006B39
color2 = #10395A

pixels = 300px
founded = 1996
disbanded = 1998
league = American Basketball League
history = 1996-1998 (2 seasons)
arena = Memorial Coliseum (capacity 10,934)
ballpark =
stadium =
city = Portland, Oregon
colors = Blue and Green
owner =
president =
coach = Greg Bruce (1996)
Lin Dunn (1997-1998)
Missy Bequette (assistant coach)cite web|title=ABL Teams|publisher=ABL Tribute|url=http://www.geocities.com/mccollum73/abl_tribute/teams.html|accessdate =2007-04-23]
manager = Linda Weston (General Manager)cite web|title=ABL Teams|publisher=ABL Tribute|url=http://www.geocities.com/mccollum73/abl_tribute/teams.html|accessdate =2007-04-23]
championships = none
titles = one Conference title
cheerleaders =
dancers =
mascot =
broadcasters =
media =

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:

*Lisa Harrison, forward for Tennessee's 1991 national championship team
*Michelle Marciniak, guard for Tennessee's 1996 national championship team
*Katy Steding, Portland native, 1996 basketball Olympic gold medalist, and forward for Stanford's 1990 national championship team
*Coquese Washington, guard for Notre Dame
*Natalie Williams, center for UCLA's basketball team and volleyball national championship teams in 1990 and 1991

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.cite news| title =Power's Bruce resigns| work =The Oregonian| date =January 2, 1997] 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.cite web|title=1998 League Awards|publisher=ABL Tribute|url=http://www.geocities.com/mccollum73/abl_tribute/1997_98.html|accessdate =2007-04-23] In the playoffs, the team met the conference runner-up, the Long Beach StingRays, and lost 2 games to 0.cite web|title=ABL Playoffs 1997-98|publisher=Infoplease.com|url=http://www.infoplease.com/ipsa/A0761359.html|accessdate =2007-04-23]

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:cite web|title=ABL-Portland Power|publisher=CNNSI.com|url=http://robots.cnnsi.com/basketball/abl/teams/power/index.html|accessdate =2007-04-23]
*Katy Steding, forward
*Delisha Milton, forward
*Natalie Williams, center
*Elaine Powell, guard
*Sonja Henning, guard

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

Team records

All-Star players

*Natalie Williams (First Team All-ABL, 1996-97cite web|title=1997 League Awards|publisher=ABL Tribute|url=http://www.geocities.com/mccollum73/abl_tribute/1996_97.html|accessdate =2007-04-23] and 1997-98)

League honors

*Natalie Williams, 1997-98 ABL Most Valuable Player
*Lin Dunn, 1997-98 ABL Coach of the Year

References

External links

* [http://www.geocities.com/mccollum73/abl_tribute/index.html American Basketball League Tribute site]
* [http://www.infoplease.com/ipsa/A0202301.html 1996-97 Standings, Awards, and Playoff Results from Infoplease.com]
* [http://www.infoplease.com/ipsa/A0761355.html 1997-98 Standings, Awards, Playoff Results, and Individual Leaders from Infoplease.com]
* [http://robots.cnnsi.com/basketball/abl/teams/power/index.html Portland Power 1999 statistics from CNN/SI.com]