Female basketball players have a long list of talented women to thank for the opportunity to not only play the game, but to play it without swishing around in a floor-length dress or a cumbersome petticoat. Women started playing basketball in 1892, but their opportunity to actually embrace the game as an Olympic sport didn’t occur until the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Can you imagine how frustrating that must have been? Wanting so badly to play- yet being excluded because of your gender?

Not any more. The number of girls spending hours on their home Goalrilla Basketball Goal courts is growing every day. The women’s leagues are becoming as popular in college and professional sports as the men’s leagues – surpassing some, in fact. Because female basketball players do not tend to be as tall as their male counterparts, the Basketball Goal Store is thrilled to offer the adjustable Goalrilla Basketball Goal. Best part: since it’s adjustable, it’s great for all the kids in your family – boys and girls.

Here’s a list of amazing female athletes who brought the game to you, your daughter, your aunt, niece and female friends:

• Babe Didrikson: She was the first of all females basketball stars. She also was well known for her incredible abilities in track and field as well as golf. In 1931, long before there were professional leagues, she was the star who took her team to the Amateur Athletes Union Championships. She also has a place in the Guinness Book of Records, as one of the most versatile athletes in the world.
• Nera White: In the 1950s and 1960s, she was the amazingly talented, female version of Michael Jordan. She is also the first woman to be noted in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
• Lisa Leslie: She stood 6 feet, 5 inches tall and was the first female basketball player to absolutely conquer the dunk shot. She was a four-time winner of Olympic gold and was voted Most Valuable Player three times.
• Rebecca Loba: She dribbled her way to a 35-0 victory as a member of the Connecticut Huskies. A knee injury ended Loba’s professional basketball career. But she then became a women’s basketball analyst with ESPN.
• Anne Donavon: She is the only person to win a WNBA title as both a player and a coach. She is also a two-time gold medalist in the Olympics.

No doubt about it, girls, you’ve got some awesome sneakers to fill. So get going. Get under that hoop and around the court with pride. They paved the way for you!

-Pat of the Basketball Goal Store Blog Team