October 15, 2017 – Newark, NJ – The WABA crowned the Jersey Expressions the 2017 Inaugural Season Champions, after defeating the Orlando Splash 108-96 in the leagues championship game.

The Splash entered the finals with an undefeated record of 8-0, and the top seed. The Expressions won a tough semi-final game to reach the finals. Both teams, from the start of the season appeared to have loaded rosters, with the Expressions 1st signing being WNBA draft pick Aliyyah Handford, who left the team after signing with a team in Romania. The Splash also lost 2 players to overseas opportunities.

Erika Jones led the Expressions with 28pts & 8 rbds, while being named finals MVP. Iasia Hemingway had a strong performance adding 23pts & 10rbds, and Ayesha Barkley added 17pts & 11rbds for the Expressions. Orlando was led by Nina Stone with 18pts, and Khadejra Young added 17pts in a losing effort.

The Expressions jumped out to an early lead, and never trailed from start to finish. Orlando made a huge run in the 4th quarter to cut the lead to 8pts, but the Expressions made their own run to hold off the Splash for the final score.

The WABA is now taking market reservation requests for the 2018 season. If interested please log on to www.womensaba.com for more information. Please follow the WABA on our social media platforms @womensaba. Log onto our WABA Network @ www.I95sportsnet/WABA

The WABA is the newly formed sister league to the ABA. For more information on the ABA, log on to www.ABALiveaction.com