Katie Donovan, one of the top freshman basketball players in the Missouri Valley Conference last season, is playing on the Canadian National Young Womens Team representing Canada at an international tournament in Brazil.
Donovan previously had been a member of the Canadian Junior National Team. The Young Womens team is a newly-formed category of national team development for athletes born Jan. 1, 1982 and later. The 19-year-old Donovan is joined by Toledos Karin Hoogendam and Utahs Shoona Thornburn as the only three Young Womens team members playing college basketball in the United States. All were chosen from a tryout camp July 1-10 at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario--Donovans hometown.
Elected to the 2002 Missouri Valley All-Newcomer Team, Donovan led the leagues freshmen in rebounding. She broke an Illinois State record for offensive rebounds by a freshman which had stood since 1989-90 and will be one of four returning starters for coach Jenny Yopps Redbirds this season.
Yopp is excited for Donovans success.
Were so proud of her. The day after we beat Indiana State (the last game of the season), she was out there on the court training, said Yopp. This is a reward for her hard work. Shes representing Illinois State and her country very well.
The top international competition Donovan will face is another plus, according to Yopp.
The style of international basketball is a passing, transition style game a lot like ours at Illinois State, said Yopp. Katie has gotten much stronger and tougher and a more versatile athlete. I think this is a challenge she has worked hard to meet.
The 12-player Canadian team, coached by Christine Stapleton, is sponsored by Canada Basketball and is part of the nations Olympic Development Program. Finishing in the top three in the tournament at Ribeirao Preto, Brazil, would qualify the Canadian team for the 2003 World Basketball Championship for Young Women in Dubrovnik, Croatia.
The Canadian team plays a pair of exhibitions against Brazilian national teams before starting the tournament July 17 against Costa Rica.
