Media
Click Here: Watch Video Highlights of the Portland Energy
Who says women’s basketball isn’t big?? If it isn’t, someone forgot to tell the Portland metropolitan area. The high school system in the Portland area has seen powerhouse programs. The Oregon City Pioneers have won three national high school titles and others try to mirror this in their aspirations. The former Oregon City head coach, Brad Smith, has helped create and organize the largest girls’ high school basketball tournament in North America that is played in the Portland area every year. The talent seen in thePortlandarea during the summer months is astounding.
So what’s stopping the dream of reigniting the fire here? 4-Point Play begs to re-examine this question.
The history of women’s basketball in Portland is a storied one, high attendance numbers yet little results in staying power at the professional level. There were two women’s professional basketball teams that have inhabited Portland, the Portland Power of the ABL (American Basketball League) and the Portland Fire of the WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association). The Power began playing in 1996, and disbanded when the ABL folded at the end of 1998. After the franchise folded, many Power players went on to continue their careers in the WNBA. The Portland Fire joined the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) in 2000 as the counterpart to the NBA team the Blazers, who played their games at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon. The team folded after the 2002 season, just three seasons into the league.
On May 26th, 2010 women’s basketball made its joyous return to PDX, on the campus of Warner Pacific College. 4-Point Play opens its doors to make way for this phoenix to rise from the flames. The fire is returning as the Portland Energy women scorched each opponent in their path. This season was designed to showcase the finest skilled women’s players from around the area, with two teams—the Portland Energy vs. the NW Elite All-Stars. As the season took shape it was clear, The Portland Energy is the only elite women’s team in Oregon.
Click Here: Watch Video Highlights of the Portland Energy