Donna Quinn was born October 12th, 1963 in Pittsworth, Queensland. She commenced basketball in 1973 as a ten year old on the bitumen courts in her hometown of Pittsworth on the Darling Downs. One of seven children she attended St Stephen’s School and Pittsworth State High School where she was school captain in 1980.
During her junior years she represented Pittsworth, Toowoomba, Southern Zone, Queensland, Queensland Country in Under 14, 16, 18 and 20’s. In 1981 she was one of the inaugural winners of a basketball scholarship to the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Canberra.
At the AIS Donna successfully juggled full-time work at a bank and the rigours and demands of training every day. This early focus clearly demonstrated her determination to be the best at everything she did. As she describes it, “At the end of the day if you never take a risk in life you are certainly not extending yourself to the fullest. You must always be courageous and creative.”
Her goal at this time was to play for Australia at the 1984 Olympic Games. She undertook a tour to Fiji with the AIS where they won the Oceania Tournament. She was a member of the AIS Women’s Team playing in the fledgling Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) which was giving her great experience against the best senior players in the nation.
Her play was so impressive she was selected to the Australian Women’s Basketball Team to tour China in early 1984. She impressed the coaches and selectors enough on her debut with Australia to be selected to play for Australia at the 1984 Olympic Qualification Tournament in Cuba.
Australia played very well in Cuba and was very unlucky not to qualify for the Olympic Games Tournament in LA. Donna and the team returned to Australia extremely disappointed. However they were then told that some Soviet teams were boycotting the Olympics and the Australian Team was now in the Olympics!
In the 1984 LA Olympics Australia played well in the six team tournament. They caused a major upset when they defeated powerhouse Yugoslavia to take fifth place.
For the 21 year old Donna the Olympics were a huge eye-opener on and off the court. Donna says, “The Village atmosphere, meeting Michael Jordon, the Opening and Closing Ceremony, all were huge experiences for me as was playing against many of the best players in the world.”
Perhaps the greatest lesson she learnt was about setting limits. She learnt not to set limits! As she explains, “No longer did I wish to set limiting goals. Now it was about daring to achieve.” This was the attitude Donna was to take from this time on.
Donna left the AIS in 1985 and joined the North Adelaide Rockets Club one of Australia’s leading women’s teams.
She was a member of the Australian Team that won the Gold Medal in the 1985 Australia Games and was a member of the team that won the Oceania Championships that same year. She then travelled with the Australian Team to Europe for a twelve game tour.
In 1986 Donna played for Australia in the World Championships in the Soviet Union and by their standards finished a disappointing 9th. Lessons were still being learnt!
Donna was selected tour to Europe with the Australia Team in 1987. That same year she was a member of the Australian Team that undertook a seventeen game tour of the USA and Canada.
In 1988 Donna played in Australia for Australia against Japan and Canada.
Donna was selected for her second Olympic Games in 1988. However the team still had to qualify. She travelled with the team to the Olympic “Goodwill” Tournament in Seoul and then to the 1988 Olympic Qualification Tournament in Malaysia.
In Malaysia the team played eleven games and qualified to play in the Seoul Olympics. Between the games in Malaysia and the Seoul Olympics the Australian Team played in a tournament in Riga, Latvia for another six games. The team was ready for Seoul!
At this time Donna was a major player and starter on the team. Donna and all the team vividly remember the Seoul Olympic tournament where they were thrashed by the hosts in game one, but fought their way back to win their next three games and then defeated the USSR. That was the first defeat for the USSR Women’s Basketball Team at an Olympic Games.
In the semi-final against Yugoslavia, where the winner advanced to the Gold Medal game, theAustralians lost by a point (in the last 0.8 of a second). It then lost to the Soviets in the Bronze Medal game and finished 4th in the tournament.
Donna recalls, “It was a devastating end to the tournament and to this day I can still feel the rawness of the losses to Yugoslavia and Russia.”
However Donna had demonstrated to herself that, “We dared to dream, and it was from here that I could truly see that a champion team could always beat a team of champions.”
From 1985 (after leaving the AIS) to 1990 Donna continued her highly successful WNBL career with the Noarlunga Club in Adelaide, the North Adelaide Rockets and the Adelaide Lightning. In all Donna played 215 WNBL games for the AIS and the Adelaide Clubs. She played 171 games with North Adelaide. She ranks 4th all time in the WNBL in points scored (2620), 4th in attempted baskets (2310), 4th in baskets made (1100), 3rd in steals (310), holds the record for the most steals in a game (11) and is 2nd in single game offensive rebounds (11).
Donna was one of the dominant players in the WNBL for nine years and was named to the All Star 5 in 1988 and 1990. In 1990 she played for the North Adelaide Rockets when the Club won the WNBL title. Donna was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the 1990 WNBL Grand Final.
After the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games Donna played for Australia in 1989 against Japan in Australia in a five game series, helped the team win the Oceania Championships, and went with the team on a thirteen game tour of the USA. The 1989 tour to the USA were her last games for Australia.
In a surprise to many Donna retired from elite basketball at the end of the 1990 season to concentrate on her banking career.
Michelle Brogan describes Donna’s abilities and influences on her.“Shortly after leaving the AIS I had the privilege of playing a season with Donna Quinn (Brown)in Adelaide and loved every minute of it. I would have to say that once I left the AIS she would have been one of my biggest influences. Her drive, endeavour, work ethic and love for competition were infectious. I suppose you can say I modelled parts of my game from her.”
Donna was to go on and succeed in an outstanding career within the banking industry. She managed the Westpac Olympic and Paralympics sponsorship for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She was so successful in this role that she was selected by the Greek Olympic Committee to assist with their sponsorships for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.
In 2007 Donna moved into property development in Australia and overseas.
Donna concludes, “I am a firm believer that opportunities come by good luck and chance.....taking a risk. At the end of the day if you never take a risk in life you are certainly not extending yourself to the fullest.”
Donna Quinn played for Australia in two Olympic Games and one World Championship. She was an outstanding WNBL player and a player who played a large role in setting the Australian Women’s Basketball Team on its road to be an elite National Team in world basketball.