Olympic Basketball Great Anne Donovan, 56

(ATR) Anne Donovan is remembered as a trailblazing leader for women’s basketball.

From high school, to college, to the Olympics and the WNBA, Donovan excelled throughout her basketball career.

Standing six feet eight inches (2.03 meters), Donovan, a New Jersey native, had the physique to dominate as a player.

She was selected for the 1980 U.S. team for Moscow which did not compete due to the boycott ordered by President Jimmy Carter. But in 1984 and 1988 she won gold in Los Angeles and Seoul. She was a member of the U.S. squad for the 1983 and 1987 Pan American Games that took gold.

As a coach, she was an assistant on the 2004 gold medal U.S. team in Athens. At Beijing in 2008 she won gold as head coach.

In the WNBA, Donovan was the first woman to coach a team to the league championship. She coached for WNBAteamsand universities until retiring in 2015.

A winner of two FIBA World Championships, she was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2015. In 1995 she became a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame. She was a member of the inaugural class of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999.

WNBA president Lisa Borders says Donovan was a trailblazer who "played a seminal role in the growth of women's basketball".

"For all she accomplished in college, the WNBA and on the international stage during her Hall of Fame career, Anne will also be remembered as a valued mentor and dear friend to so many in the game. On behalf of the WNBA, we extend our deepest sympathies to the Donovan family during this difficult time," said Borders in a statement.

"She used to say she bled red, white and blue. As much as we remember her accomplishments in the game, we mourn a great friend who will be greatly missed," said USA Basketball in a statement.

Reported by Ed Hula.