By Randy Arrington
LURAY, May 1 — Emily Donovan has long held a dream of playing basketball at the next level. However, despite being named a first team All-Region selection this past season and being a part of Luray’s only state champion girls basketball team four seasons ago…she wasn’t sure it was going to happen. And then it did.
“It feels incredible. I’ve always wanted to play in college after high school, but to be able to accomplish that is astounding,” Donovan said earlier this week.
On Wednesday, a large crowd of friends, family and teammates gathered in the Commons at Luray High School for a signing ceremony to announce Donovan’s commitment to play basketball next season for the Royals of Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg.
“This is pretty special for Emily. She’s played for me for four years…she’s been a state champion…all-district, all-region…one of our best to come through here,” LHS head girls basketball coach Joe Lucas said at the onset of Wednesday’s signing ceremony.
“She’s a 1000-percent better person than she even is as a player. Emily’s the best leader we’ve ever had. The legacy that’s she’s gonna leave is going to be seen two years from now or three years from now,” Coach Lucas continued. “When your hardest worker is also the best player and leads their teammates, it wears off on everyone else. She rallies everyone around her. All her teammates love her, and I’m sure all her teammates at EMU will lover her too.”
Donovan will join an EMU squad trying to rise to greater prominence in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. The Royals were 6-12 in the ODAC last season and 11-15 overall under 12th year head coach Jenny Posey. Formally Jenny Logan, the Bulldog alum’s name sits on a banner in the gymnasium among the all-time leading scorers in basketball at LHS.
“She’s very welcoming, so nice. She welcomes you as part of her family,” Donovan said of her new coach. “It’s kinda crazy to think that someone left such a legacy here and now I get to go and play under her.”
Posey served as an assistant at the University of Lynchburg and Mount St. Mary’s College in New York, before taking the head coach position at Hollins College in 2015. After three seasons, she took the job at EMU. Recruiting heavily in the region, Posey picked up Page County High School standout Caris Lucas two seasons ago. In her sophomore season this year, Lucas played in 17 games for the Royals with six starts. She scored 83 points, grabbed 43 rebounds, recorded 12 assists and 19 steals.
Donovan says playing with her former rival will be an easy transition.
“I’m so excited… No maroon and blue, we are on the same team…no rivalries any more,” she said. “It’s about us being teammates and working toward the common goal of winning.”
In addition to her accolades and obvious leadership on a young team this year, Posey recruited Donovan due in large part to her energy and effort on the court.
“When we first started talking…she talked about my ability to shoot and drive the ball,” Donovan said of the recruiting process. “Personally, I know that I need to work on getting faster…playing in a couple of open gyms, I definitely noticed it’s faster” at the next level.
However, the Luray senior is grateful for the solid foundation she received, and all that she has learned from Coach Lucas over the past four seasons.
“He’s taught me to be a great teammate and always work hard. He’s always saying you’re not going to get any better if you are not in the gym,” Donovan said. “He taught me about leadership…to lead others in a way that makes them want to play hard for you.”
Donovan was as prolific in the classroom as she was on the court and will be receiving academic scholarships that will cover more than half of her tuition at EMU. As she prepares to make the transition from high school to college, the LHS standout hopes her Bulldog legacy will be a simple one.
“That I was a good teammate and a good person to my teammates…the points, rebounds, and all that doesn’t matter as much, but how my teammates feel and how they look up to me,” the senior said with the upmost sincerity. “Especially with a young team… It means a lot [to me] how I was looked at as a teammate, more than any stats.”
To learn more about EMU Women’s Basketball, CLICK HERE.
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