Ep190: Karen Heintz, Starting Point Guard Houston Angels, Women's Basketball League (WBL)

May 15, 2025
This week, host Elizabeth Emery is talking to Karen Heintz, a starting point guard, with the Houston Angels of the Women’s Basketball League (WBL), which was founded in 1978. In that inaugural year of the league, the Angels won the Championship over the Iowa Cornets.

Before playing with the Angels, Karen walked onto Texas A&M in 1974, then transferred to Baylor as a sophomore. She is still in the record books at both schools in rebounding and scoring. Karen is also one of the early female athletes to receive an athletic college scholarship.

In the episode, Karen tells all those stories and we’ll hear what it was like to play in the WBL, Karen’s memories from those days, what she was paid, plus her thoughts on the current momentum in women’s sports. We also talk about coaching because Karen has been teaching and coaching for 47 years. She was a head coach for 34 years, winning 797 games, multiple Regional Finals, and District Championships.

Karen still plays basketball competitively with the Connecticut Classics, an exceptional 50+ team. They regularly win National Senior Games championships.

Karen has been married to the love of her life and best friend, Charlie Heintz for 39 years. The couple has three adult children, five grandchildren and three great grand children. Karen loves spending time with her family, playing golf, basketball and softball, pickleball, gardening and canning jelly and vegetables.

Suzie Snider Eppers
KHOU television interview with WBL Houston Angel’s Coach Don Knodel and Karen Aulenbacher Heintz
Rise and Fall of the Women’s Basketball League in Texas, Debbie Mauldin Cottrell
History of Women’s Basketball League (WBL), Joann Lanin
History of Women’s Running with Katie Holmes in Ep181
History of Women’s Sports Journalism and Basketball with Joann Lanin in Ep136
AIAW vs NCAA: When Women’s College Basketball Had to Choose, Mark Bechtell
WSF’s Title IX Guide
See the Connecticut Classics at the National Senior Games this past February