In four years with the Western Washington University women’s basketball team, Sydney Donaldson has enjoyed some great experiences. But in the final weeks of her college career, she is hoping for at least one more.
Maybe something like what happened two years ago.
Donaldson, an Edmonds-Woodway High School graduate, was in her sophomore season at WWU back in 2012-13. As it happened, it was one of the top seasons in program history, with the Vikings posting a 29-5 record, winning conference regular-season and postseason tournament championships, a West Regional title, and advancing to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight national tournament in San Antonio.
Though the Vikings came up short of a title — they won their opener, but lost in the semifinals to eventual national champion Ashland University — “that year was just so great, so incredible,” Donaldson said. “It was almost surreal. We worked real hard and then everything just clicked. It just felt right.”
Being part of such an exceptional team “is something I’ll never forget,” she said. “You just have a special bond with everyone on the team, and to be a part of something like that was so exciting. It’s probably been the most exciting part of my basketball career.”
Now a senior, Donaldson would love to close her career with another prolonged postseason run. The Vikings are 17-7, but are beginning to hit their stride, having won 11 of their last 13 games.
Donaldson, a 6-foot forward, has started 21 of the team’s 24 games this season and is averaging 8.6 points and 4.6 rebounds a game.
“She’s been a great leader for us,” said Western Washington head coach Carmen Dolfo. “She’s got the ability to score. She has some great moves around the basket, but she can also score outside. But I think the thing she brings most is her spirit and enthusiasm. People like playing with her. She’s just a great teammate.”
One of the season highlights — and certainly a personal highlight for Donaldson — came two weeks ago in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference game against Northwest Nazarene. With WWU trailing by one point and with 1.8 seconds on the clock, Donaldson took an in-bounds pass and sank a game-winning shot from just left of the free throw line at the horn. It prompted a mob scene of happy Vikings, and with Donaldson right in the middle.
“It was pretty crazy,” she said. “I don’t think I’ve ever hit a game-winner like that. It felt pretty great.”
Donaldson is the latest in a string of Snohomish County players to find success at WWU. Marysville-Pilchuck grad Britt Harris was a senior on the outstanding 2012-13 team, and she was preceded by another M-P alum, Amanda Dunbar (2006-07 to 2010-11), one of the top scorers in program history. Before Dunbar, Stanwood grad Tina Donahue (2002-03 to 2005-06) also had a standout career for the Vikings, and there have certainly been others in Dolfo’s 24 seasons as head coach.
In her tenure, Dolfo said, “we’ve had a number of players (from Snohomish County) and they’ve all had such a great impact on our program. It’s nice for them to be able to be close to home and to have their families be able to watch them play. … We’ve certainly had a lot of success (recruiting) from that area, for sure.”
Though Donaldson is nearing the end of her WWU playing career, she expects to remain involved with the program for another two years. She will complete a degree in communication studies with a minor in sport psychology, and then return in the fall as a graduate assistant while pursuing an additional degree in business administration.
In the future she wants to work in sports administration, and perhaps in a college athletic department. Who knows, she might become the next Lynda Goodrich, the Lake Stevens native and a legendary figure at Western Washington after a long career as women’s basketball coach and later athletic director.
“That’s a bold statement,” Donaldson said with a laugh. “But along with (Goodrich) and Carmen, they’ve definitely given me some great leadership to look up to.
“Seeing how much (athletic department officials) do for the players,” she added, “I think it’d be great to be a part of that. So that’s my ultimate goal.”
But in the meantime, she expects to enjoy the remaining weeks of her college career. And not only the games, but the relationships.
“Coming to this program, you get so close with your teammates,” she said. “You really become a family and you have so many great times together. There are hard times, too, and there’s a lot of hard work. But you definitely care about each other more as individuals than just as teammates. And Carmen cares about us more as people than just as players.”
Being at Western Washington the last four years “has helped me grow as a person,” she said, “and it’s helped change me into the person I want to be as I get older.”
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