Donna Abbott – a member of the 2022 WVU Sports Hall of Fame Class – has passed away. Let’s see How did WVU sports hall of fame Donna Abbott die and Donna Abbott cause of death in detail.
How did Donna Abbott die?
Donna Abbott, a two-time all-state performer who helped Huntington East High win the state championship in 1987 and was a star for the Mountaineers from 1989 to 1992, passed away Friday night in Huntington.
We are saddened to hear that Donna Abbott – a member of the 2022 @WVUSports Hall of Fame Class – has passed away.
Donna will be deeply missed by the entire Mountaineer women’s basketball family.
Once a Mountaineer, Always a Mountaineer pic.twitter.com/ZHbEdRv6xr
— WVU Women's Basketball (@WVUWBB) November 28, 2022
Donna Abbott cause of death
Donna Abbott cause of death was not disclosed yet. There are no information available about Donna Abbott cause of death.
Medico topics have been trying to reach out to the family and relatives for comment on the incident. So far no responses have been received. We will update the page once enough information is available. More information on Donna Abbott cause of death will be added soon.
Who was Donna Abbott?
Donna Abbott was one of the seven high school basketball players from West Virginia who played for the state’s first two NCAA Tournament teams in 1989 and 1992, a time when the state’s top prospects were leaving for other states.
Mary Ostrowski of Parkersburg Catholic and Amy Gamble of John Marshall decided to play for Tennessee, while Susan Robinson of Doddridge County High School went on to play for Penn State and earn All-American honors, and Vicky Bullett of Martinsburg High School was one of Maryland’s all-time greats.
Abbott had offers to leave the state as well:
She recalled years ago,
“I got a lot of letters from other schools that I just didn’t answer.”
“I really wanted to stay close to home so my parents could see me play.”
Her No.1 Priority
Marshall was “close to home” for Donna, her top priority was to play for the university named after her home state.
In 1989, Abbott played right away at forward for West Virginia’s squad that upset St. Joseph’s and Temple, stunned Penn State in Rec Hall, won the Atlantic 10 tournament, and qualified for the NCAA Tournament.
With the help of Abbott’s 19 points and 11 rebounds, WVU defeated Western Kentucky, which was ranked 19th, in the NCAA Tournament’s opening round before losing to Virginia, which was led by All-American player Dawn Staley, four days later.
Also during that season, Donna scored a career-high 37 points in WVU’s 84-68 loss against St. Joseph’s.
The Mountaineers season
The Mountaineers’ success continued for the following two seasons, with Abbott and classmate Rosemary Kosiorek serving as the team’s captains.
Donna averaged a career-high 17.3 points per game as a sophomore in 1990 and 15.8 as a junior in 1991.
One of our own. One of the greats. Donna will be missed.https://t.co/Ok4YUhCGOi
— WVU Women's Basketball (@WVUWBB) November 28, 2022
Chronic Knee Injury
For WVU’s groundbreaking basketball team in 1992, Abbott averaged 14.2 points and 10.1 rebounds per game despite playing through a chronic knee condition that necessitated her to wear ice bags whenever she wasn’t playing.
The Mountaineers dropped to 13th-ranked Western Kentucky and second-ranked Virginia, respectively, before winning their next 22 games and entering the national rankings for the first time in school history after defeating Marshall by a score of 16 on January 22, 1992.
Abbott scored 15 points and grabbed eight boards as WVU defeated Arkansas at home to earn its first poll appearance.
Best Game of the Season
A few weeks later, she faced up against rival George Washington, and in an impressive 80-61 win against the eighth-ranked Colonials, she had her finest game of the year with 26 points and 14 rebounds.
By that point, WVU had completely taken over the state and was regularly seeing increases of two to threefold in home game attendance as the Mountaineers climbed to the No. 11 spot in the nation.
Season Highlights
The highlight of the season was West Virginia’s dramatic 73-72 win against 20th-ranked Clemson in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in front of an arena-record 8,185 spectators.
It was possibly the first time that WVU needed to staff event security and parking attendants for a women’s home athletic event.
In that fantastic win, Abbott had 14 points and 9 rebounds.
Four nights later, she ended her career by defeating top-ranked Virginia in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 on the Cavaliers’ home court in Charlottesville with 21 points and 11 rebounds.
We pay tribute to Donna Abbott, outstanding player, 2022 WVU Hall of Fame inductee and WVU physical education graduate. Condolences to her family and friends. #HailWV https://t.co/jKE5pW5umz
— WVUCAHS (@wvucahs) November 28, 2022
Career end
She finished her promising career with 1,656 points and 1,020 rebounds, making her one of only three players in school history to do so.
Her career scoring average of 15.3 points per game places ninth in school history.
Abbott was selected for the All-Atlantic 10 first team three times, including her senior year in 1992.
WVU Sports Hall of Fame
Donna was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame earlier this year.
Due to her deteriorating health, Donna had to deliver her acceptance speech through Zoom.
Tributes to Donna Abbott
Many people expressed their profound sympathies to her family and expressed how much they loved her.
Lauren Kirkpatrick commented,
“Thinking about all who knew and loved her!
I remember watching her play. ❤️”
Shirley Milush commented,
“My heart is broken 💔 and, I too, am blessed to have known her . memories. Loved her. She was always strong-willed and fought a tough battle. So sorry to hear this sad news✝️ Deepest Sympathy 💔”
Frank Costa commented,
“I am so sorry to hear this news. Donna was a great person whom I got to when I served as a graduate assistant coach in 1991-1992. Not just an outstanding player, but truly an outstanding young lady. I am so glad that she was selected into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame this year. God bless!!!”
Sara Roberts commented,
“So sorry to her this news ! Donna was one of the greatest Lady Mountaineer’s. We mourn the loss of our Mountaineer sister and friend. 💙🏀💛 RIP#31”
One of the worst things anyone can go through in life is losing a loved one. Any journey must have a destination at the end. The person’s time on earth has regrettably come to an end now that they have died.
We wish her eternal peace and send our thoughts and prayers to her loved ones, family, friends. May she rest in peace.
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