Donna Orender keeps hearing that her league is going to fold, that the slumping economy will close the deal, that the men don't want to play along, that girls should stick to basket weaving and badminton.

And she keeps saying the skeptical gods are crazy.

"From day one, there's been a prediction that the WNBA will not be here," said Orender, beginning her fourth year as league president. "I say, 'Well, that prediction is probably made by the same people who thought the Earth was flat and the Earth was the center of the universe.' The fact is, we're here. We're building a business."

Pause.

"Why shouldn't we be here?"

She bites. She kicks. She hits.

She sells.

During a recent visit to Sacramento to meet with Monarchs officials, sponsors and season-ticket holders, Orender, brimming with energy and enthusiasm despite a miserable cold, stubbornly sticks to her stump speech. She acknowledges that, similar to the NBA, NFL, NHL and Major League Baseball, the WNBA is being pinched by the economic downturn. Rosters for the upcoming season, for instance, have been reduced from 13 players to 11. Staffs have been trimmed. And merely in terms of perception, matters weren't helped when the four-time champion Houston Comets folded in December.

But she quickly spins off a litany of encouraging developments as the league opens its 13th season: a new eight-year deal with ESPN commences, with teams receiving rights fees for the first time; attendance, ratings, merchandise sales, sponsorships and Web traffic increased in 2008; season-ticket sales have risen significantly in at least two markets – New York and Washington.

Whether any or all of these trends can be sustained is anyone's guess. Sponsorships might be a little light, she concedes. Ticket sales could dip. Anticipating at least some adverse impact from the global financial crisis, the league and its franchises are continuing to evaluate their business practices and more closely monitoring costs.

"Do we have the right number of players?" she says. "Are our cost models the right ones? Are our ticket packages the right ticket packages? This environment requires you to ask these questions because of all the different pressures."

For Orender, every cut is personal. She's been a casualty of trying economic and cultural times before. Known as Donna Geils before her marriage, the slender, dark-haired Orender was an All-Star in the Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL), one of the many women's pro ventures to fold after only a few seasons (1978 to '81).

She pursued a second career with ABC Sports and the Sports Channel, and later was named vice president of the PGA Tour.

These past four years, when not shuttling between New York and her husband, M.G. Orender, and 12-year-old sons Jacob and Zachary in Jacksonville, Fla., Orender, 51, invariably can be found visiting one the WNBA's markets, plotting for the future.

She predicts expansion in 2011, yet also seems resigned to the possibility of additional ownership changes, which she insists is not always bad. She doesn't care who owns the teams, where the teams are located, or whether the teams are part of a dual NBA/WNBA partnership, provided the owners nurture and market the product.

"I have a more philosophical approach," said Orender, noting that only seven franchises still are aligned with NBA clubs. "The strength of this league will be having owners who are committed for the long term. Like the Maloofs. They have been solid from day one."

So what about the Maloofs? Recent cost-cutting measures. Ticket price decreases. Team payroll reduced significantly. And those are only a few of the latest developments regarding the Kings. Yet co-owner Joe Maloof says his Monarchs, who are hardly immune from rumors, innuendo and gloomy financial forecasts, can exhale; the family has no plans to sell or relocate.

"We won a world championship with the Monarchs, and we don't forget that," he said. "Things are tough now, but you can break even if you make the playoffs. We're going to be fine, and one reason I say that is the league has great leadership. Donna is just like (NBA Commissioner David) Stern. When you listen to her, she makes you want to run through a wall."

At this point, Orender is content to sprint among cities, her sales pitch the same: The economy might be in shambles, but the quality of the game has never been better. And she's right about that. It's been more than a decade since the WNBA was a turnover waiting to happen. The challenge is to spread the word, and eventually, the wealth.

Call The Bee's Ailene Voisin, (916) 321-1208.