School: Central Bucks East
Basketball
Favorite athlete: Becky Hammon
Favorite team: Philadelphia Phillies
Favorite memory competing in sports: “Spending Christmas break and New Year’s Eve with my team in Disney World at the Holiday Tournament.”
Funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: “Shaving coach Lonergan’s head after beating Cheltenham for the first time.”
Music on iPod: A mix of genres, but mostly country J
Future plans: High school math teacher or elementary school teacher
Words to live by: “Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass; it is about learning to dance in the rain.”
One goal before turning 30: “Get married and have children”
One thing people don’t know about me: “In kindergarten, I was ‘Chicken Little’ in the play.”
Ask Jaime Donovan what she enjoys most about playing basketball, and the Central Bucks East senior’s voice takes on a thoughtful tone.
“I can’t really describe it,” she said. “It’s just the love for the game that’s there. Every second that the clock’s running – I’m enjoying every minute of it.
“The shooting, the passing, defending, the steals, the teamwork involved - I just love every aspect of it.”
It’s hardly surprising that Donovan excels.
She burst onto the scene as a freshman and made an immediate impact as a shooting guard off the bench for a Patriot squad that advanced to the state tournament. Donovan earned a spot in the starting lineup as a sophomore, and she’s never left.
“From an offensive standpoint, she definitely stood out to us early on,” East coach Tom Lonergan said.
The offensive part of the game has always come easily to Donovan, who was one of East’s leading scorers as a sophomore and was on her way to leading the team as a junior when she suffered a contusion in her knee.
“It was the sort of injury – even though she got back, she never got back to 100 percent,” Lonergan said. “She kind of struggled.
“It was an injury that took longer than I think any of us expected. It certainly affected more than half the season. It was an unfortunate thing.”
For Donovan, it was a disappointing finish to a year of great promise as she watched her Patriot squad endure an early elimination from the district tournament, thus missing out on a berth to the state tournament for the first time in nine years.
“That (season) was really challenging because I wanted to be the best I could be and help my team in all aspects and provide as much assistance as I could,” Donovan said. “The fact that I knew I could play better, but I knew I couldn’t at the time because of my injury – it was tough, but I had to look past it and help as much as I could.”
Donovan is back at full strength this year, and she has been a key piece in the Patriots’ strong start. The senior standout is not only putting points on the board – she’s averaging in the neighborhood of 12 points a game, she’s also a force on the defensive end.
That has made all the difference in the world.
“What we’re most impressed with this year – she’s always had the offensive side of the game, and she continues to shine with it this year,” Lonergan said. “But she’s done a 360 on the defensive side of the floor.
“She’s really playing well defensively. She’s working hard at it. That’s what we’re most proud of – what she’s been able to accomplish on the defensive side of the ball this year so far.”
Donovan – the owner of a deadly long-range jumper – admits she made a concerted effort to improve the defensive side of her game.
“I feel as though coach has played a big role in that aspect because he’s always – not been on me about my defense but encouraged me because he’s always said he knows that I can do it,” she said. “He said my eyes always lit up on offense. However, on defense, they were there, but it wasn’t as much of an effort.
“I found that when you put both sides of the floor together and both pieces together it works out a lot better. I realized that in order to expand my game and take it to the next level I had to play both ends of the floor.”
Donovan has been playing basketball for as long as she can remember – beginning with her days of playing four-on-four on eight-foot baskets as a youngster. Along the way, she also competed in softball, soccer, field hockey and track, but it was basketball that was her passion.
When she was in sixth grade, Donovan joined the AAU circuit, competing with the Northeast Rockers. While both AAU and high school have played a role in Donovan’s development as a player, she admits the two are vastly different.
“I feel as though the defense is the same in both instances,” she said. “It’s very intense, very in-your-face.
“The offensive difference is that for our school team – as with any school team – we run a lot of plays whereas AAU you kind of create your own shot.”
The Patriots, who are heading down to Disney World for a holiday tournament, are off to a 5-0 start this season.
“We’re playing well as a team,” she said. “We’re really on board. I feel as though it’s going to be a great season.”
After missing a portion of each of the last three seasons with injuries, Donovan is hoping to stay healthy for the duration this time around.
“Last year I felt as though my knee never fully recovered, and it just lingered, but it feels great now,” she said. “Being it’s my fourth year and senior year, I just wanted to go out and leave it all on the court.
“I want our team to be a success and have a great, memorable and successful season.”
Donovan, who aspires to become a teacher, plans to continue her basketball career at the collegiate level, and the academic piece is of paramount importance for an athlete who is a standout student as well.
For now, however, Donovan has some business to take care of during what could be a very special season.
“She’s more than surpassed the way she was playing before she got injured last year,” Lonergan said. “She knows that offensively we look to her a lot and we rely on her abilities a lot. She also knows if this team is to make any type of run in the district and state tournament, we will rely heavily on her to do it also on the defensive end of the floor.
“The offensive end is expected. It’s just a question of whether she can bring it on the defensive end of the floor like she’s been doing this season so far. That’s where I think we’ll be a very difficult team to beat because they can’t just worry about her offensive game. They’re going to have to worry about her play on the defensive side of the ball.”
And that can only mean double trouble for East’s opponents.
