Another Women’s Premier Basketball Association season starts this weekend as the league is growing again this this year. There will be many returning players as well as rookies, both from Northern California and from around the country as the work in the offseason increased the visibility of the league. The WPBA will again be a summer destination for people starting their professional careers or continuing their training for their next season. The league is also scheduled to field a team in international competition later this year.
Format and Venues
The big change this year is games on both Saturday and Sunday during every weekend of the regular season, allowing teams to play a full double-round robin. As has been the case in previous seasons, all eight teams will play on every game day with games scheduled for 12, 2, 4, and 6. The first three weekends in June will have all of their games at Fremont High School in Oakland. After a weekend off for the holiday and the All Star festivities, there will be five more weekends of the regular season with the venue shifting to San Leandro High School.
Returning Players
Players returning every year continue to be a key part of the league with local-based stars like Ameela Li and Erica McCall returning. Northern California residents coming off of professional seasons around the world like Delia Moore, Angel Jackson, Jada Lewis, and Jada Holland will also be playing again. Last year’s group of newcomers was very strong and several of them had strong overseas seasons, including Miyu Mizukawa, Isabelle Mauricio, Khalis Cain, Alaiyah San Juan, Abby Cooper, and Taylor Linzie.
Newcomers
The WPBA has expanded their notoriety and reach ahead of this season, especially after hosting a combine at the Women’s Final Four. Some of the players there are Bay Area natives who now head to the league after finishing their college careers, including Sabrina Ma and Nevaeh Asiasi, who had a strong showing at the event as a DII star who was going against DI players.
A number of other combine participants have been announced as joining the league from established pros like Ashiala Jackson to rookies like Cordasia Harris, Chandler Prater, and Alayna Contreras. The league also made a splash by signing Koi Love, who is coming off of a very strong season in Europe. Locally, the big-name signing is Courtney Range, who has also had a long professional career. Rookie signings include Northern California natives Jaisa Gamble and Diamond Richardson as well as other players with high-level college careers like Gabby Elliott and Micah Gray.
Leave a Reply