Anne Donovan

Anne Theresa Donovan (November 1, 1961 – June 13, 2018) was an American women's basketball player and coach. From 2013 to 2015, she was the head coach of the Connecticut Sun.

In her playing career, Donovan won a national championship with Old Dominion University, won two Olympic gold medals, and went to three Final Fours overall. She was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995, and became a member of the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2015. Donovan was inducted in the inaugural class at the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999.

As a professional basketball coach, she guided the Seattle Storm to their first title in 2004, becoming the first woman to coach a WNBA Championship team (as well as the youngest person to coach a WNBA champion, at age 42). She is the only person to have both played for a national women's college title and coached a team to a professional title.

After coaching the Indiana Fever and the Charlotte Sting earlier in her career, Donovan joined the New York Liberty as an assistant coach in the spring of 2009, then took over as interim head coach of the Liberty on July 31, 2009. She then went back to college to Seton Hall for two seasons before resigning to take the Connecticut Sun head coaching job for two seasons. Donovan was also the coach of the Olympic gold medal-winning 2008 United States Women's Basketball team.

High school Donovan attended Paramus Catholic High School in Paramus, New Jersey. At 6'6", Donovan led her high school team to consecutive undefeated seasons, including two state championships. She averaged 25 points per game and 17 rebounds her senior year. She set ODU career marks for points (2,719), rebounds (1,976), and blocked shots (801), and seasonal marks for most games played (38), most minutes played (1,159), most field goals (377), and field goal percentage (.640). She averaged a double-double for her entire career, with 20 points and 14½ rebounds per game. Donovan's 50 points in a single game against Norfolk State on December 11, 1980, is a school record, while her 801 career blocked shots is best in NCAA history.

At ODU, Donovan helped the Lady Monarchs win the 1980 AIAW national title (their second straight) with a 37–1 record. She had ten blocks and seventeen rebounds in their win over Tennessee.

Professional career As there were few professional opportunities for women basketball players in the U.S., Donovan played pro ball for Chanson V-Magic in Shizuoka, Japan and Modena, Italy from 1984 to 1989. and as part of the inaugural class of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999.

In 2003, Donovan was hired as the second head coach of the Seattle Storm, inheriting a team with two number one draft picks from 2001 and 2002, the Australian Lauren Jackson and University of Connecticut star Sue Bird. In her first year, Donovan's team narrowly missed the playoffs, but in 2004, after Donovan became director of player personnel and added Betty Lennox, the Storm earned the city of Seattle its first national championship in 25 years.

In the 2005 season, in which Donovan became the first female coach to win 100 games, the Storm made the playoffs but lost in the first round. At season's end, Donovan's contract was extended to keep her in Seattle for several years.

With her 120th victory on August 6, 2006, she became the coach with the third-most WNBA victories, passing former Los Angeles Sparks coach Michael Cooper. She trails only Van Chancellor and Richie Adubato in victories.

On November 30, 2007, Donovan resigned from her position of head coach of the Seattle Storm.

On April 28, 2009, Donovan was appointed as an assistant coach for the New York Liberty. She assumed the position of interim head coach of the Liberty on July 31, 2009, replacing former head coach Pat Coyle.

On March 31, 2010, she accepted the women's basketball head coaching position at Seton Hall University on March 29, 2010, although she completed the 2010 season with the Liberty.

On November 6, 2010, Donovan recorded her first win as the head coach of Seton Hall's women's team as the Pirates defeated the Temple Owls by a score of 72–59 at Walsh Gymnasium.

She resigned the coaching job at Seton Hall in January 2013 and accepted a position with the WNBA's Connecticut Sun, where she spent three seasons until she resigned as head coach on October 1, 2015.

USA Basketball as player Donovan was named to the team representing the US at the inaugural William Jones Cup competition in Taipei, Taiwan. The USA team had a record of 3–4, finishing in fifth place, although one of the wins was over South Korea, who would go on to win the gold medal.

Donovan was a member of the USA National team at the 1983 World Championships, held in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The team won six games, but lost two against the Soviet Union. In an opening round game, the USA team had a nine-point lead at halftime, but the Soviets came back to take the lead, and a final shot by the USA failed to drop, leaving the USSR team with a one-point victory 85–84. The USA team won their next four games, setting up the gold medal game against USSR. This game was also close, and was tied at 82 points each with six seconds to go in the game. The Soviets Elena Chausova received the inbounds pass and hit the game winning shot in the final seconds, giving the USSR team the gold medal with a score of 84–82. The USA team earned the silver medal. Donovan averaged 5.8 points per game.

Awards and honors Two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American while at ODU. 1983—Winner of the Honda Sports Award for basketball