Donna (Hebert) Devlin, Massachusetts – 1988

Donna (Hebert) Devlin, Massachusetts – 1988

Donna Hebert Devlin attended Southern Connecticut State College, where she excelled in basketball, volleyball, and badminton and spent her summers pitching for the Raybestos Brakettes Softball Team.

Southern CT Basketball Coach Louise O’Neal remembers (Hebert) Devlin  as a great scorer, strong rebounder, and the ultimate leader and team player. Some of her SCSC teammates included Donna Lopiano, Betsy Gilmartin, Linda Hamm, Peg Kellers, and Lauren Anderson. This talented group was the nucleus that laid the foundation for the future success of SCSU women’s basketball.

Devlin considers Coach O’Neal as the mentor who most influenced her playing and coaching careers.  Devlin’s interest in coaching was nurtured during her year as O’Neal’s graduate assistant coach.

In 1969, Devlin was named the head women’s basketball coach at Worcester State College and remained there through 1981. Her teams won several Massachusetts State Championships during her tenure. The 1980 team won the Division III AIAW Championship and finished third in 1981.

From 1981 – 1987, she coached at Brandeis University.

Donna was inducted as a player into the Connecticut Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.