The Stjarnan women's basketball team, commonly known as Stjarnan, is the women's basketball department of Ungmennafélagið Stjarnan, based in the town of Garðabær, Iceland.
History In 2009, disgruntled Ármann players, unhappy with poor training facilities and lack of practice time, contacted Stjarnan and inquired if the board would be interested in starting a women's team. The board responded positively and in the end the entire Ármann team transferred over.
Stjarnan finished first in the second-tier 1. deild kvenna in 2015 and defeated Njarðvík in the playoffs to win promotion to the top-tier Úrvalsdeild kvenna for the first time in its history.
After a disappointing first season, where high scoring guard Chelsie Schweers was fired mid-season and head coach Baldur Ingi Jónasson resigned before the seasons end, Stjarnan bounced back in 2016–2017 behind Danielle Rodriguez stellar play and made it to the playoffs. They were beaten 3–0 by Snæfell in the semi-finals.
On 13 February 2019, behind Rodriguez 33 points, including a three-point heave from just inside the half-court line to finish the first half, Stjarnan's won Breiðablik, 103–82, in the Icelandic Cup semi-finals, advancing to the Cup finals for the first time in its history.
On June 7, 2019, the board of Stjarnan withdrew the team from the Úrvalsdeild for the upcoming season and registered for the second-tier 1. deild kvenna, stating that it was necessary after several of its starters had left the team. On 22 August it was reported that the board had withdrawn the team from the 1. deild kvenna after it delayed hiring a new head coach. A spokesperson for the board stated that it did not want to field a team that relied to much on non-homegrown players. The club was criticized for its actions in withdrawing the team, including by former player Ragna Margrét Brynjarsdóttir, especially since the argument of homegrown players did not apply to its men's team where the vast majority of players did not come up through Stjarnan's youth program.
Season by season SeasonTierLeagueIcelandic Cup2009–102 1. deild kvenna 4th 7–8 DNQ 1st Round2010–112 1. deild kvenna 1st 12–2Runner-up 1st Round2011–122 1. deild kvenna 3rd 11–4 DNQ 2nd Round2012–132 1. deild kvenna 2nd 12–4Runner-up 2nd Round2013–142 1. deild kvenna 4th 8–6 DNQ 1st Round2014–152 1. deild kvenna 2nd 8–4 Promotion 1st Round2015–161 Úrvalsdeild kvenna 6th 3–21 DNQ 2016–171 Úrvalsdeild kvenna 4th 14–14 2017–181 Úrvalsdeild kvenna 5th 14–14 DNQ 1st Round2018–191 Úrvalsdeild kvenna 3rd 18–10 Runner-up2019–20 Did not participate2020–212 1. deild kvenna 7th 6–10 1st Round 2021–222 1. deild kvenna 9th 7–13 DNQ 2022–232 1. deild kvenna 1st 21–3 N/A1 2022–231 Úrvalsdeild kvenna TBD 0–0 TBD TBD Notes1 Promoted to Úrvalsdeild kvenna. Source
Trophies and awards Trophies 1. deild kvenna (2): 2011, 2023
Awards Úrvalsdeild Women's Domestic All-First Team Ragna Margrét Brynjarsdóttir – 2017
Úrvalsdeild Women's Foreign Player of the Year Danielle Rodriguez – 2018
Úrvalsdeild Women's Defensive Player of the Year Auður Íris Ólafsdóttir – 2019
Notable players
CriteriaTo appear in this section a player must have either: Played at least three seasons for the club. Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club. Played at least one official international match for their national team at any time. Played at least one official WNBA match at any time.
Coaches
References
External links Official Website Eurobasket team profile KKÍ: Stjarnan – kki.is