As the women’s basketball team’s season heads into the home stretch of the season, it will depend on the team’s only senior, captain Kaitlin Donahoe. 

Donahoe, the team’s sole starter from last year and their unquestioned leader, provides the team with more than just spirit. She has scored 15.5 points per game—the most on her team and the second most in the NESCAC.  But it is her intangibles that the team will sorely miss next year.

“When there’s 10 seconds left on the shot clock, we look to Kaitlin,” said captain Anna Prohl ’14. “We always try to get the ball in her hands.”

“She’s someone I can go to for advice,” first year Shannon Brady said. “She’s like an older sister to me. I trust her.”

A vocal leader and positive influence for the young team, Donahoe has taken up the mantle of role model with relative ease, managing everything from on-court adjustments to sending emails and ordering paraphernalia for the team’s breast cancer awareness game.

While she has earned a reputation for her positivity, she has never been afraid to single out  places for improvement, frequently offering advice to the team’s eager group of first years. 
“We have very entrenched tradition here,” Donahoe said. “There’s that pressure of living up to expectations when we lose to teams we are supposed to beat. I try to remind them to keep things in perspective.”

After playing point guard in previous years, the two-time NESCAC Player of the Week has logged significant time at the shooting guard spot this year. The change has allowed her to take over down the stretch in tight games. 

Donahoe has recovered well from the ACL injury that ended her season last year and required surgery. Statistically, this is her best season on the team. 

“She’s resilient,” Coach Adrienne Shibles said, “She’s had a lot of injuries but she’s come back. I really admire that about her.”

“She never takes a play off, not even in practice,” Prohl added. “She represents Bowdoin basketball; she’s not one-dimensional but very involved.”

Donahoe is highly involved  off the court as well. She has been part of the Alcohol Team, the committee responsible for the adjustments to chem-free housing, the Athletic Council, the Office of Residential Life, and Bowdoin Student Government. Her resume also includes working as a tour guide for the College and serving as president of Baxter House.  

She has also carved out a niche role for herself on campus, promoting awareness about sexual assault and harassment prevention as a V-Space facilitator and performer in Speak About It. 
Donahoe waited until the last possible day to commit to Bowdoin. The campus environment attracted her to Bowdoin over Division I schools.

Donahoe credits a lot of her success this year to the team’s “visualization.” She explained that after learning the week’s game plan and studying film extensively, the team discusses its expectations for the game. This process highlights one of Donahoe’s most unique skills: her incredible memory.

“I think about it and I can remember the sets that teams have run in the past,” she said.
“Of course that’s definitely due to development,” she added modestly. “If you had asked what Bates runs when I was a first year, I would’ve been totally lost.”

It is this faculty and the ability to make on-court adjustments for which she has become known. Indeed, it is her attention to detail that sets her apart from her competition.

“She’s like having a coach on the court. There’s really no other way of putting it,” Shibles said.
“Sometimes I even remember entire conversations we have in the lockerroom. I’m sure the rest of the team hates that by now,” Donahoe joked. “Hopefully, they’ll appreciate it more when I’m gone.”