1891 Basketball invented by Dr. James Naismith

1892 Senda Berenson adapts the rules for women and introduces the game at Smith College

1892 First inter-institutional (extramural) contest between the University of California and Miss Head's School

1893 Clara Gregory Baer introduced basket ball to girls at Sophie Newcomb College in New Orleans

1895 First publicly played basketball game in the South
(demonstration game at the Southern Athletic Club in New Orleans by Sophie Newcomb College students)

1895 Clara Gregory Baer publishes first basket ball rules for women, called "Basquette"

1896 First intercollegiate game played between Stanford University and University of California at Berkeley

1899 Formation of first Women's Basket Ball Rules Committee

1901 First official publication of Basket Ball for Women (three court game) by Spalding Athletic Library with Senda Berenson as editor

1903 Halves shortened from 20 minutes to 15 minutes

1905 Executive Committee on Basket Ball Rules (National Women's Basketball Committee) formed under auspices of the American Physical Education Association (APEA)

1905 Six to nine players on a team, 11 officials

1906 Five to nine players on a side

1908 Placing one hand on a ball held by an opponent is a foul

1908 Double teaming a shooter is a foul

1910 Dribbling is outlawed

1913 Officiating first appeared in guides

1913 Single dribble returns, but ball must bounce knee high

1916 No coaching is allowed from the sidelines during game (except halftime) No timeouts, no substitutions

1918 Basket with open bottom instead of closed basket with pull chain becomes official

1918 Bounce pass legalized

1918 Substitutes may be used, but they cannot re-enter the game

1922 There must be at least six players on a side, maximum of nine

1923 Formation of the Women's Division of the National Amateur Athletic Federation (NAAF)

1925 Goals scored by one-hand overhand throw, two-hand underhand throw, shot-put throw, and throw with back to the basket count as one point

1926 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) sponsors first-ever national women's basketball championship, using men's rules

1927 Players must wear numbers on the back of their jerseys

1928 Formation of first national women's officiating board: Women's National Officials Rating Committee

1929 First AAU All-America team selected

1931 Techniques for officiating included in rulebook

1931 Babe Didrikson leads Golden Cyclones to AAU national title

1932 All field goals count as two points

1932 Guarding on all planes permitted

1934 Tulsa Business College won the first of three consecutive AAU national titles

1936 Formation of the All American Red Heads

1938 Three-court game changed to two-court game with six players per team (three guards and three forwards)

1951 Hanes Hosiery wins the first of three consecutive AAU national titles

1953 "Overtime" period established-- following one overtime, games are decided by "sudden death"

1953 USA wins gold in first World Championships

1955 USA women's basketball team played in first Pan American Games basketball competition and won the gold medal

1956 Ball can be tied with two hands around ball held by opponent

1956 Three seconds in the lane is a violation

1962 Each team is permitted two players to roam the court

1962 Player allowed to "snatch" the ball from another player

1962 Nashville Business College wins first of eight consecutive AAU National Championships

1965 Joint Committee AAU/DGWS Rules established

1966 Continuous unlimited dribble becomes official rule

1969 First National Invitational Intercollegiate Basketball Tournament held at West Chester State College in Pennsylvania

1971 Five-player, full-court game and 30-second clock become official

1975 First Kodak All-America Team

1976 Women's basketball makes its Olympic debut

1977 Lusia Harris is awarded the first Broderick Cup as the most outstanding athlete in the AIAW

1978 Formation of Women's Professional Basketball League (eight teams)

1978 Carol Blazejowski named as inaugural recipient of Wade Trophy

1981 Women's Basketball Coaches Association formed

1982 First NCAA National Championship held

1984 USA captures its first Olympic gold medal in Los Angeles

1984 West VIrginia's Georgeann Wells registers the first dunk in women's collegiate basketball

1986 Nancy Lieberman becomes the first woman to play in a men's professional basketball league when she joins the USBL's Springfield Fame

1987 Three-point field goals introduced to collegiate basketball

1988 USA wins gold medal at the Seoul Olympics

1991 The Liberty Basketball Association is launched, folds after one exhibition game

1992 USA finishes with bronze medal at Barcelona Olympics

1996 USA recaptures the gold medal at the Centennial Olympics in Atlanta

1996 American Basketball League tips off its first season

1997 Inaugural WNBA season

1999 Grand opening and induction of the Inaugural Class of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame

2000 Houston Comets win fourth consecutive WNBA title

2000 USA captures the gold medal at the Olympics in Sydney as Teresa Edwards competes in her fifth Olympics

2001 Jackie Stiles establishes a new NCAA Division I scoring mark

2002 Lisa Leslie of the Los Angeles Sparks becomes the first woman to dunk during a professional game

2003 The WBL celebrates the 25th Anniversary of the first professional women's basketball game

2004 The University of Connecticut defeats Tennessee 70-61 in New Orleans to win its third straight championship

2005 The WNBA announces a new franchise in Chicago

2006 Epiphanny Prince, a senior at Murry Bergtraum High School in Manhattan, set a national girls' scoring record with 113 points in the Lady Blazers' 137-32 win over Brandeis in a Public School Athletic League game. She broke Cheryl Miller's record of 105 points, set with Riverside Polytechnic High School in California in 1982.