Gondringer Doesn’t Give Up After Tragedy

No one would have blamed Donna Gondringer for quitting Golden West College’s women’s basketball team this season.

She certainly had good reason, considering the tragedy she witnessed in October.

It started when Gondringer and her best friend, Krisden Yoshiko Tanabe, returned to Gondringer’s house in Westminster about 4:30 p.m. Oct. 12.

Gondringer entered the house as Tanabe went to talk to her former boyfriend, Thomas Deshields White, who was waiting outside in a parked car. White shot and killed Tanabe with a shotgun, then, as Gondringer came out of the house and pleaded with him not to, shot and killed himself.

Tanabe and Gondringer would have been teammates this season at Golden West.

But Gondringer never thought of quitting the basketball team after the incident, that’s not her style. She confronts things head-on, with an impressive amount of self-confidence.

“There is no way I would have quit,” Gondringer said. “Krisden wanted it (basketball success) just was much as I did. We always talked about it . . . I still cry myself to sleep some nights, but I have to get used to this.

“Basketball is my life. You should see my room. There is a basket, and pictures of Michael Jordan and James Worthy . . . I like Magic Johnson too. He wears my number (32). So does Michael Jordan (23), he just wears it backward.”

Gondringer and her teammates have been outstanding all season. A 6-foot-1 forward, Gondringer is averaging 15.6 points and 7.7 rebounds a game for Golden West, the top-ranked team in the state. She averaged 19.3 points and nine rebounds a game during Orange Empire Conference play.

The Rustlers, who have a 32-1 overall record and won the conference title with a 12-0 mark, play host to Antelope Valley at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Southern California regional playoffs.

“All we’ve done this season makes me feel good,” Gondringer said. “I know she’s up there watching and hoping we do well.”

Although Gondringer’s statistics are impressive, they could be better if she played more. Since Golden West is outscoring opponents by 31 points a game this season, the starters seldom play more than a few minutes of the second half.

“I wish I could play more,” Gondringer said. “But this way everyone gets to play and (everyone) is ready in case something happens.”

Gondringer came to Golden West last season after an outstanding prep career at La Quinta High School. She twice was the Garden Grove League player of the year, first as a sophomore in 1985-86, then again as a senior in 1987-88. She never got a chance to win the award as a junior because a knee injury cut her season short.

Gondringer, who averaged 19 points and 12 rebounds in her high school career, was recruited by some four-year colleges but had to attend community college because she didn’t take enough core classes.

But her first season at Golden West didn’t go as well as she or the coaches had hoped.

“She didn’t do as well as she thought she would,” Coach Dick Stricklin said. “She really only had one move in high school and because she was better than most players, she didn’t have to develop any other moves.

“For two seasons, we’ve worked with her to do some different things and she’s really starting to come around this season.”

Gondringer has been contacted by several schools, including UCLA, Oklahoma, Hawaii, Fresno State and Oklahoma. She plans to attend a four-year college next season, but a more immediate goal is to win a state title.

Golden West has been to the state tournament the last three seasons, twice as the top-ranked team from Southern California, but the Rustlers failed to get past the semifinal round each time.

However, Gondringer is confident Golden West, which needs two regional victories to reach this season’s tournament, March 1-3 at College of the Sequoias, can do better this year.

“I know we can get there,” she said of the championship game. “This team wants it more than last season. We are more dedicated and I can feel it from within.”