2018-19 Season Preview: Women's Division
The NWBA embarks on its 70th season and after a great offseason, it’s shaping up to be one of the best seasons yet. Several new teams have been established from grassroots organizations. Reigning champions have moved up to conquer new divisions. A number of talented players have taken their talents to new rosters, and a new batch of young stars prepare to rise at the dawn of the season.
We’ll cover all that news, division-by-division, in the next week in our 2018-2019 NWBA Season Previews. This breakdown covers the engaging play of the Women’s Division.
A new teams emerges, and an old face returns
The Portland Cascades are a brand new team in the Women’s Division out of Beaverton, Oregon. Adaptive Sports Northwest is no stranger to NWBA with three other registered teams (Prep, Varsity and Adult Division III), and the Cascades will get their first chance to make a mark on the league this season.
Returning from a two-year hiatus, the Denver Lady Rolling Nuggets are ready to climb back to the top of the division. The 2016 NWBA Women’s National Champions feature a formidable roster, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them amongst the last clubs standing at this year’s National Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Tournament (NWWBT).
The Sorting Tourney
The City of Carson in California hosted the 2018 NWWBT last year, and will be the battlegrounds of another decisive tournament for the Women’s Division. The Battle of the Valkyries, a tournament featuring only the Women’s Division, takes place on December 1-2. The tourney will test the balance of divisional powers, revealing the true contenders for top-status. Speaking of top dogs...
Top teams on the totem
The WASA Lady Bucks are the returning champs, and any team who wishes to take the throne in the Women’s Division will likely have to beat the Lady Bucks in the spring. The Lady Bucks bring back two U.S. Paralympians in Becca Murray and Natalie Schneider, who have four Paralympic gold medals between the two of them. Don’t forget Lydia Sprain, who won three national titles as a player on the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Women’s team and has been a coach with the team since 2015.
The Possibilities Shield Maidens will have a chip on their shoulders after coming within a basket of beating the Lady Bucks in overtime of last year’s championship game. They have their own Paralympian as well: Alma Rodriguez, a Paralympian on both the Mexican and U.S. teams, as well as a member of the NWBA Hall of Fame (Class of 2017).The co-founder and captain of the team, Courtney Ryan, led the team in scoring last year with a scorching 30 points per game.
Make sure to check back tomorrow as we will provide a preview to Intercollegiate Division. Good luck and have fun to all of the Women’s Division athletes and teams this season!
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