The Women's Professional Basketball League (abbreviated WBL) was a professional basketball league in the United States. . The league played three seasons from the fall of 1978 to the spring of 1981. The league was the first professional women's basketball league in the United States.
The Eastern Division included the New Jersey Gems, New Orleans Pride, New York Stars, Philadelphia Fox, St. Louis Streak and Washington Metros. The Midwest Division included the Chicago Hustle, Iowa Cornets, Milwaukee Does and Minnesota Fillies. The Western Division included the California Dreams,Dallas Diamonds, Houston Angels and San Francisco Pioneers.
On April 9, 1980, despite Iowa's league-leading scorer Molly Bollins 36 points, the New York Stars held on to win game four of the finals 125–114, behind 27 points by Pearl Mooore and 22 by Janice Thomas. Stars coach Dean Meminger called the game the "culmination of a year of hard work". In what proved to be a harbinger of things to come, however, the Stars asked to go on a two-year hiatus not long after winning the title.