Anne T. Donovan

At a time when women's basketball was gaining national exposure, Anne Donovan, a 6-foot 8-inch center, was the game's premier player. Although aggressive, Donovan always played under control. From 1979 to 1983, she dominated women's college basketball like no player before her. Donovan owned the area under the basket and averaged double figures in points and rebounds in her college career to go along with 801 blocked shots, a record at the time of her enshrinement. As a freshman, she powered Old Dominion University to a 37-1 record and the 1979 AIAW national championship. Donovan later guided ODU to the NCAA Final Four in 1983, earning her the Naismith Player of the Year award. A three-time Olympian (1980, 1984, 1988), Donovan led the United States to gold medal victories in 1984 and 1988. Her international playing experience also included the Goodwill Games in 1986, the Pan American Games in 1983 and 1987, the World University Games in 1981, the R. Williams Jones Cup in 1984, and the Olympic Festivals in 1978 and 1979.