In February, the MSJC Eagles women’s basketball team clinched the 2024-25 Inland Empire Athletic Conference title. Their hard-fought 55-51 win over Victor Valley College in front of a roaring and enthusiastic crowd, secured their seventh straight conference title, exemplifying the growing enthusiasm for the sport across the nation. After spending most of the last couple decades in the shadow of their male counterparts, the women’s game has emerged to cement its status into the forefront right next to them.

Eagles freshman guard Trinity Skinner, who played a vital role in this season’s success, saw her team thrive under the sport’s electric atmosphere. “Women’s basketball, as well as women’s sports in general, is growing in such an aspiring way,” said Skinner. “It is amazing to see the level of recognition and respect female athletes are receiving now, both at the college and professional levels.”

The sport’s rise in popularity culminates a long and unrelenting journey. Player notoriety and opportunities are growing tremendously, but this wasn’t always the case.

“Back in the day, people would never give women’s basketball a lot of attention,” claimed Eagles Assistant Coach Robert Morrow. “Nowadays, girls are starting at a very young age, and their game is really starting to catch up to the boys’ scene. To be honest, in some cases, it is almost even.”

Cheryl Miller is a name synonymous with basketball. After leading the Riverside Poly High School to four consecutive CIF Southern Section titles, she would move on to USC, where she cemented her name into basketball royalty. During the Trojan’s 1982 season, she became the first woman to dunk in an organized game. An unfortunate knee injury ended her playing career during a time when professional opportunities were limited to a few European leagues. America had yet to fully recognize the women’s game’s excitement, but the spark was lit.

Once the nineties came along, the women’s game could no longer be denied. The popularity and skill of players like Sheryl Swoopes, Cynthia Cooper, Tina Thompson, and Lisa Leslie inspired the NBA owners to invest in a women’s league. The WNBA began its inaugural season in the summer of 1997. Leslie, who went on to star for the Los Angeles Sparks, and Thompson, who won four championships with the Houston Comets, were early table-setters for the league. 

Taylor Bell, who became the MSJC Eagles’ head coach prior to the 2023-24 season, is excited about the game’s growth and the opportunities it offers his players. 

“The growth of women’s basketball has been tremendous,” said Bell. “I think the increase in visibility and media support, with more women’s games and content being televised, is really exciting and promising.”

The present growth was not without a struggle for mainstream attention. Although the popularity of the WNBA and NCAA games steadily increased, they still sat on the bubble nationally, with ratings just enough to keep them relevant. The turn of the century saw a new group of players emerge. Candace Parker came out of the University of Tennessee to take the torch from Lisa Leslie for the Sparks. Dawn Staley took her Virginia Cavaliers to the 1991 NCAA Final Four and spent eight years in the WNBA playing for the Charlotte Sting and Houston Comets before coaching.

Diana Taurasi, who grew up in Chino, CA, would become the star the league needed. After leading the University of Connecticut Huskies to three National Championships and being named the Naismith National Player of the Year in 2003 and 2004, she took her talent to the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, who selected her as the first overall pick in the 2004 draft. Nicknamed the White Mamba by the late Kobe Bryant, she led the Mercury to championship titles in 2007, 2009, and 2014. Like Bryant, she spent her entire 20-year career with one team, retiring at the end of the 2024 season as the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer.

Fast forward to 2025, and the game has arrived. “A lot of girl high school athletes are aspiring to play college ball,” said Morrow. “There are schools out there for you and your ability. The junior college route is very inexpensive, and if you work hard, you may get a scholarship to move onto a bigger school to finish up your education.”

Morrow’s daughter Maddie Morrow, an MSJC alum and a guard on the Eagles 2018 championship team, would go on to play at Northeastern State (OK). Head Coach Bell says, “Many of the players we recruit in our program come knowing they want to play at the next level, working hard to receive an athletic scholarship at a four-year school.”

Today’s women players are right up there with the men. The NCAA’s annual March Madness Championship women’s tournament has seen significant growth in notoriety and viewership. The 2022 championship game between the University of South Carolina and the University of Connecticut reeled in 4.85 million viewers. The 2023 championship game saw that number grow to 9.9 million, clearly reflecting the sport’s rise in popularity. 

Many credit the college class of 2020 for the recent increase in popularity. The rivalry between Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and LSU’s Angel Reese was front-page news. Head Coach Dawn Staley’s University of South Carolina Gamecocks, one of the top NCAA teams, and her former star player Kamila Cardosa are known by even casual basketball fans. When JuJu Watkins, USC’s star player, went down with an ACL injury in this year’s tournament, most every sports media outlet covered the story. 

Like the men, many women college players are inking NIL deals, making them wealthy while still in college. 

“I think the sport is nailing down a permanent spot in mainstream sports. The revenue in the WNBA and NCAA has been trending in the right direction and will only continue to grow,” added Coach Bell.

Opportunities for players to continue playing after college continue to grow. Star players are inking shoe deals and endorsements for a variety of products. The WNBA is still growing. The league wants to expand with proposed teams in California (Golden State), Toronto, and Portland. Several other cities have active bids for teams as well. To offset the number of players going overseas in the WNBA offseason, a new league was formed by present-day players Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Carter. Unrivaled began Its inaugural season in 2025. Marked by its unique take on the game, it exceeded expectations. Generating more than $27 million in earnings provided players another revenue stream and allowed fans to see great basketball. Its interactive aspect showcased the more personal side of players.

Skinner, who is looking forward to next year’s Eagle season, is proud of the team’s success and the leadership and dedication of the coaching staff. 

“Winning the IEAC conference championship this year was a reflection of all the hard work my team and I put throughout the year, both physically and mentally,” said Skinner. “Our success was not just a result of talent, but also our relentless commitment to improving day in and day out.”

With today’s stars becoming household names and impersonated by kids on playgrounds across the country, women’s basketball has proven to be a legitimate force. The days of it being an afterthought, regulated to the end of news broadcasts, are over. Anyone who hasn’t taken notice hasn’t paid attention.