Janice Fincher (born April 22, 1953) is an American former basketball player. After playing college basketball for the UNLV Lady Rebels, she played professionally in the Women's Professional Basketball League, the first women's pro league in the United States.

Playing career

College career

Fincher played college basketball for the UNLV Lady Rebels during the 1977–1978 season.

Professional career

In 1978, Fincher was drafted in the first round of the Women's Professional Basketball League by the Chicago Hustle. She averaged 16.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.0 assists during her first season and was selected to the 1979 WBL All-Star Game. She quickly became Chicago's most popular player and when head coach

Doug Bruno Richard Douglas Bruno (born November 7, 1950) is the head coach of the DePaul Blue Demons women's basketball team. In 2016, he completed his 30th season as head coach. Under his tenure, the Blue Demons have qualified for post-season competition p ...

did not start her in the opening game of the 1979–80 season, he had to change his home phonenumber due to angry calls from Fincher's fans. Shortly later, she was traded to the

Washington Metros The Washington Metros were a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. that was a member of the Eastern Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball ...

for two third-round draft picks and an undisclosed amount of cash. 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 The Iowa Cornets was a team that played for two seasons in the Women's Professional Basketball League. George Nissen purchased the first franchise in the fledgling league on March 21, 1978 for $50,000. Nissen, who had been a star gymnast at the U ...

for Denise Sharps, and Fincher was then selected with the fifth pick by the St. Louis Streak. The Hustle however, then traded

Adrian Mitchell Adrian Mitchell FRSL (24 October 1932 – 20 December 2008) was an English poet, novelist and playwright. A former journalist, he became a noted figure on the British Left. For almost half a century he was the foremost poet of the country's Cam ...

to the Streak for "Future considerations" which turned out to be Fincher, and she returned to Chicago before the end of the month. Fincher remained with the Hustle until the WBL folded following the 1980–81 season.

Coaching career

Fincher served as an assistant coach at Mississippi College in 1982–1983 before being hired as the head coach of Clarke College in

Newton, Mississippi Newton is a city in Newton County, Mississippi. The population was 3,195 in the 2020 census. Geography Newton is located south of I-20 and U.S. Route 80 approximately 25 miles west of Meridian in south central Newton County. Potterchitto Creek f ...

. In 1985, she became an assistant coach at Northeast Louisiana State College.

References

External links

WBL statistics
at StatsCrew.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Fincher, Janie 1953 births Living people American women's basketball players UNLV Lady Rebels basketball players Women's Professional Basketball League players