The Portland Power was a women's professional basketball team in the American Basketball League (ABL) based in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

. The Power began play in 1996, and disbanded when the ABL folded at the end of 1998. The Power hosted home games at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, which had a capacity of 10,934.

1996-97 season

The Power held their pre-season training camp at

Western Oregon University Western Oregon University (WOU) is a public university in Monmouth, Oregon. It was originally established in 1856 by Disciples of Christ pioneers as Monmouth University. Subsequent names included Oregon State Normal School, Oregon College of E ...

Monmouth, Oregon Monmouth () is a city in Polk County in the U.S. state of Oregon. It was named for Monmouth, Illinois, the origin of its earliest settlers. The population is 11,110 at the 2020 Census and it is part of the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area. H ...

. A scrimmage was held in Monmouth on October 6, 1996, against the

Seattle Reign OL Reign is an American professional women's soccer team based in Seattle, Washington. Founded by Bill and Teresa Predmore in 2012 as Seattle Reign FC, it was one of eight inaugural members of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). In 2020, ...

. Portland's first head coach was Greg Bruce, who had previously been the head women's basketball coach at

Portland State Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two decades ...

. The Power's first roster included: * Lisa Harrison, forward for

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

's 1991 national championship team * Michelle M. Marciniak, guard for

's 1996 national championship team *

Katy Steding Kathryn Suzanne Steding (born December 11, 1967) is a former collegiate and professional basketball player. She is currently an assistant coach for the Stanford Cardinal women's basketball team. College career Steding was born in Portland, Oreg ...

, Portland native, 1996 basketball Olympic gold medalist, and forward for Stanford's 1990 national championship team *

Coquese Washington Coquese Makebra Washington (born January 17, 1971) is a former collegiate and professional basketball player and former associate head coach at Notre Dame. She is currently the head basketball coach for the Rutgers University Scarlet Knights wom ...

, guard for Notre Dame * Natalie Williams, center for

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

's basketball team and volleyball national championship teams in 1990 and 1991 The Power got off to a poor start, going 5-17 under Bruce. Power players reported to ABL management on at least two occasions that Bruce was difficult to work with. The league met with Bruce, who resigned on January 1, 1997, citing personal reasons. He was replaced by former Purdue coach

Lin Dunn Lin Dunn (born May 10, 1947) is an American women's basketball coach, currently general manager with the Indiana Fever. She is most known for being the first coach and general manager for the Seattle Storm. She has more than 500 wins to her name. ...

. Under Dunn, the Power managed to go 9-9 the rest of the first season, and finished last in the Western Conference. Regional

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

network Prime Sports Northwest broadcast four Power games.

1997-98 season

In their second season, the Power showed much improvement. The team acquired

Sylvia Crawley Sylvia Crawley (born September 27, 1972) is a former American professional women's basketball forward, licensed minister and motivational speaker. She was also the head women's basketball coach of the Boston College Eagles, from 2008 to 2012, and ...

from

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

's 1994 national championship team and

Delisha Milton DeLisha Lachell Milton-Jones (born September 11, 1974) is an American retired professional basketball player and head coach of Old Dominion. Milton-Jones played college basketball for the University of Florida. She was a first-team All-American ...

from

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

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. In the playoffs, the team met the conference runner-up, the

Long Beach Stingrays The Long Beach Stingrays was a women's professional basketball team. It existed for only the 1997–98 season, and was a member of the American Basketball League (ABL). The Stingrays played most of their home games at the Walter Pyramid on the ...

, and lost 2 games to 0. Season ticket costs ranged from $176 to $265 ($ to $ adjusted for inflation). Individual game tickets cost $11, $13 or $15, depending on the section ($, $, $, respectively, adjusted for inflation).

1998-99 season

For their third season, the Power acquired Steding's former Stanford teammate, point guard

Sonja Henning Sonja L. Henning (born October 4, 1969) is an American attorney and former collegiate and professional women's basketball player. Born in Jackson, Tennessee, she grew up in Racine, Wisconsin, where she attended Horlick High School. ...

. 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: *

, forward *

, forward * Natalie Williams, center *

Elaine Powell Elaine Powell (born August 9, 1975) is an American assistant coach for the Minnesota Lynx and former professional basketball player. A point guard born in Monroe, Louisiana, she played in the WNBA from 1999 to 2008.Sonja Henning Sonja L. Henning (born October 4, 1969) is an American attorney and former collegiate and professional women's basketball player. Born in Jackson, Tennessee, she grew up in Racine, Wisconsin, where she attended Horlick High School. ...

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

Team records

1997-98 playoff results

ABL statistical leaders

1997-98 season: * Natalie Williams, 1st in ABL in scoring (913 points, 21.7 points per game) * Natalie Williams, 2nd in ABL in rebounding (477 rebounds, 11.4 rebounds per game) * Natalie Williams, 1st in ABL in field goal percentage (336 of 604, .556 average) * Natalie Williams, 4th in ABL in blocks (47 blocks, 1.1 blocks per game) 1998 season (partial): * Natalie Williams, 2nd in ABL in scoring (258 points, 19.9 points per game) * Natalie Williams, 2nd in ABL in field goals percentage (94 of 162 .580 average) *

, 1st in ABL in three-point goals (32 of 74 .432 average) * Natalie Williams, 2nd in ABL in rebounding (129 rebounds, 9.9 rebounds per game) *

, 2nd in ABL in assists (78 assists, 6.0 per game)

Rosters

All-Star players

* Natalie Williams (First Team All-ABL, 1996-97 and 1997-98)

League honors

* Natalie Williams, 1997-98 ABL Most Valuable Player *

, 1997-98 ABL Coach of the Year

References

{{Reflist

External links

American Basketball League Tribute site
* ttp://www.infoplease.com/ipsa/A0761355.html 1997-98 Standings, Awards, Playoff Results, and Individual Leaders from Infoplease.combr>Portland Power 1999 statistics from CNN/SI.com
American Basketball League (1996–1998) teams Basketball teams established in 1996

Power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...

Basketball teams disestablished in 1998 Defunct basketball teams in Oregon 1996 establishments in Oregon 1998 disestablishments in Oregon Women's sports in Oregon Basketball in Portland, Oregon