She credits her players with filling key roles in the community and helping to win fans among girls, and boys.

By building awareness, women's sports fans hope to create more support for women on the court. One of the most famous female athletes in the country, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, credits Title IX, a 1972 law barring discrimination in school sports, for creating equal opportunities for girls.

"With Title IX, the opportunity for girls in sports is such a blessing," says Joyner-Kersee. "I can never imagine the women who came before me, who didn't have the same opportunities that I had."

She broke records with her Olympic heptathlon performances. Now, she reaches out to young people through grassroots programs, like the Triple Play wellness program through the Boys and Girls Clubs.

Experts agree the race isn't over for equality in sports, particularly in the coaching industry. Hogshead-Makar says women are locked out of jobs that would have them coaching men at the university and professional levels.

"It's probably the most sex-segregated industry out there," she says. "The industry of coaching men. It's less than 2%."

Still, she's optimistic about the future.

"(With) those numbers?" she says. "You can only go up."