The Long Beach Stingrays was a women's professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

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 The Walter Pyramid, formerly known as The Long Beach Pyramid, is a 4,000-seat, pyramid-shaped indoor arena on the campus of Long Beach State University in Long Beach, California. It serves as home venue to the University's men's and women's ...

on the campus of

California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), also known in athletics as Long Beach State University (LBSU), is a public teaching-focused institution in Long Beach, California, United States. The 322-acre campus is the second largest in the ...

; however, one home game was played at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim (now the

Honda Center Honda Center (formerly known as the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim) is an indoor arena located in Anaheim, California. The arena is home to the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League. Originally named the Anaheim Arena during construction, it w ...

). Their

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

was

Maura McHugh Maura McHugh (born June 20, 1953) is a former basketball coach who has coached at the college level, in the WNBA and ABL. She was a four-year starter at Old Dominion University in the early 1970s. She was one of the first women's basketball pl ...

. The Stingrays' biggest star player was their

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

Yolanda Griffith Yolanda Evette Griffith (born March 1, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player who played in both the American Basketball League (1996–1998), ABL and WNBA. An eight time WNBA All-Star, she was named the 1999 WNBA MVP and the W ...

. Other notable Stingrays included Beverly Williams, Michelle M. Marciniak, and the former

Olympic athlete Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

Venus Lacy Venus Lacy (some sources give her name as Venus Lacey, born February 9, 1967) is an American former professional basketball who played as a center. Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, she won championships at every level, but her American professio ...

. In what turned out to be the team's only season, the Stingrays made it all the way to the ABL's championship round. They beat the defending champion

Columbus Quest The Columbus Quest was a professional women's basketball franchise located in Columbus, Ohio, in the now-defunct American Basketball League (ABL). They were one of the league's original eight teams that started play in 1996. In the league's b ...

in the first two games (both in Long Beach) but lost the final three games in Columbus, and with that, the series. Despite their strong first season, the Stingrays were viewed largely with indifference by area fans. They had the league's worst attendance; for most of the season, they attracted crowds in the hundreds. Citing anemic season ticket sales and weak corporate sponsorship, league officials shuttered the Stingrays in August 1998. The rest of the league followed in December. Griffith, like most of the ABL's star players, eventually joined the competing

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. The league comprises 13 teams (scheduled to expand to 15 in 2026). The WNBA is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. The WNBA w ...

(WNBA) Griffith went on to a long career in the WNBA, most notably for the

Sacramento Monarchs The Sacramento Monarchs were a professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 until folding on November 20, 2009. They played their home games at ARCO Aren ...

. As for McHugh, she has coached various professional and college teams.

Team record

Regular season

Post-season

;ABL Playoffs First-Round ;ABL Semifinals ;ABL Championship Series

League honors

* ABL Defensive Player of the Year, 1997–98 * All-ABL First Team, 1997–98

References

* {{cite web, title=Articles about Long Beach Stingrays Basketball Team, url=http://articles.latimes.com/keyword/long-beach-stingrays-basketball-team, work=Los Angeles Times, access-date=26 December 2015, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151202192502/http://articles.latimes.com/keyword/long-beach-stingrays-basketball-team, archive-date=2015-12-02, date=May 6, 1998 Article headline, author, date, and lead paragraph, in reverse chronological order, each linked to page of the article. American Basketball League (1996–1998) teams Defunct basketball teams in the United States Basketball teams established in 1997 Basketball teams disestablished in 1998 Sports clubs and teams in Long Beach, California Women's sports in California ca:American Basketball League III