College Athlete of the Week

Year: Senior

School: Western Washington University

Sport: Basketball

Hometown: Marysville (Maysville-Pilchuck High School)

What she did: One week after earning Great Northwest Athletic Conference player-of-the-week honors, Dunbar had 18

points and 14 assists in a pair of conference wins to extend the Vikings’ winning streak to 13 games.

What’s next: Seventh-ranked WWU (18-1 overall, 11-0 in the GNAC) visits St. Martin’s on Saturday and Western Oregon on Monday.

The two-minute drill

So Wednesday’s game, a 67-57 win over Seattle Pacific, was televised on Fox Sports Northwest. Were the nerves a little different before tipoff?

Um, no. I was more excited _ excited because it was SPU. I wasn’t really amped up about the whole televised thing. We’ve been televised all four years when we played in Anchorage, so it’s not that big of a deal. I’m not into the whole media thing. But I was excited to play SPU and to see how we stacked up against them.

They said during the telecast that SPU has become a bigger rival than Central Washington for the Vikings as of late. Is that true?

Yeah. SPU and Western are usually the top two in the GNAC, so that’s the big game every year. I think Central is a rival just because of the name. But it’s definitely more SPU.

Did you notice the cameras during the game?

Not really. Just during the pre-game shootaround because a camera was focused on me. But after that, I didn’t notice them.

Tell us the truth: did you TiVo the game? And how many times have you watched it?

No, but my family TiVo’d it for me. I saw a little of the replay (Thursday afternoon). It was pretty cool.

Your senior season seems to be going pretty well. Your team is ranked seventh in the country, you set the school 3-point record and you’re on pace to become only the second player in school history to lead the Vikings in scoring all four years. Is this how you envisioned your career at Western going?

Not really. I had high hopes and dreams of making it far, but I never had my mind set on breaking records and doing these things. I just happened that way.

I hear your senior year hasn’t been all fun and games. They said during the telecast that you’ve been playing through some injuries this year. What hurts, and how does it affect you on the court?

I’m actually doing a lot better. I injured my knee and tore a muscle in my foot. The foot isn’t healing because I basically just need to take time off to rest it. I need to take about two months off for it to heal, and I can’t do that, so I’m just playing through that. The knee is completely healed, though.

How painful is the torn muscle in your foot?

I try not to think about it. It’s something that’s there all the time. I go to get treatment and tape it up and try not to think about it.

You hurt it in the preseason?

I tore the muscle in the summer. I basically took August, September and October off, so I missed all the conditioning, and then I started working out two weeks before the first game. So it never had time to heal.

And I understand it’s been a tough couple of weeks for you off the court as well?

Well, I had a family member pass away. That was hard, but everything’s fine now. I had a game the next day, and I crunched it out and played.

How tough was that to return to the court the next day?

It was hard to keep my mind focused. But basketball is my passion, so it comes easy sometimes being out there on the court.

So you’re a senior now, and I assume you’re on pace to graduate soon. What’s next?

I want to try to play overseas. I don’t know what’s available, but I want to play at the highest level I can. And then I want to coach after that. So I don’t know what’s next. I don’t know where life will take me. I guess it’s up to God.

Is there any place overseas you’d prefer to be next year?

I’ve been thinking about Australia. And I was talking to a girl last night about Italy. And I heard Germany’s nice.

Is there a country where you wouldn’t want to play?

Uh, Russia. I want to go to an English-speaking country. I don’t really know what I want, but I feel like I’m picky. I can’t really say where I’ll be.

Maybe Marysville will get a WNBA team and you can play in your hometown?

Uhhhh … yeah. I would play there.

Doesn’t seem too likely, does it?

No, probably not.