Former Chiawana basketball player is taking her game to Europe
Delaney Hodgins started her week with a professional contract to play basketball in Finland. She will end the week a married woman when she says ‘I do’ to Zach Bruce on Saturday.
“It’s a busy, busy week,” Hodgins said.
Hodgins, a 2014 graduate of Chiawana High School, graduated this spring from Eastern Washington University, where she holds the record for career scoring with 2,120 points.
She played, and started, in 129 games over her EWU career. She also set the EWU and Big Sky Conference single-game scoring record with 46 points on March 2 against Northern Arizona. Her 692 points her senior year also is a single-season scoring record.
“It’s crazy,” Hodgins said of taking the school scoring record from her older sister, Hayley (1,819 points). “Never thought I do anything like that going into my freshman year.”
All of the points, and a contract to play in Europe, come as no surprise to those who know the Hodgins family.
Hayley and Delaney put the EWU women’s basketball program on the map, and their younger sister, Braydey, plays for Boise State. Their mom, Karen (nee Murray), was a standout player at the University of Washington, and her name still is sprinkled throughout the UW records books.
She also played professionally in Europe for 10 years.
Hodgins, 22, said she thought about playing in the WNBA or in Europe. She then was passed over in a strong WNBA draft class, which turned her toward Europe.
Funny thing is, European teams found her first.
“After the season, agents were calling to represent me,” Hodgins said. “I thought, ‘how did you find me?’ ”
After weighing her options, Hodgins signed with the Espoo Basket Team in Espoo, Finland.
“There were some other offers that came through, but I couldn’t do them because of the wedding,” Hodgins said. “This one fit me better with the timing. I compare them to a mid-major college team, which is where I came from. It’s a good place to start as a rookie. I can move up from there to Germany, Spain or Italy.”
And, she will be taking her husband with her.
“We are lucky; we will get to see the world,” Hodgins said. “I just never thought I’d be in Finland.”
Hodgins met her future husband at EWU, where he was a member of the football team.
“Hayley introduced us,” Hodgins said. “She and Zach knew each other from Athletes in Action at Eastern. The summer I went up there, we met. We dated all through college.”
Hodgins is set to report to her Finnish team in the middle of September. Her pay will be between $1,000-$1,500 a month, but she said her housing and all expenses, except food, are covered in her contract.
“I am really excited for her new adventure and know she will be a great addition to her team in Finland,” EWU coach Wendy Schuller said in a news release. “It’s great to see her carry on the tradition of Eagles playing overseas and can’t wait to follow her and the team.”
Hodgins graduated this spring with a 3.86 GPA and earned her degree in health informatics technology and management along with a minor in health services management.
She collected many academic and athletic accolades over the years, and there might be one more to come — NCAA Woman of the Year.
“That (nomination) was totally unexpected,” said Hodgins, who is one 581 student-athletes across all NCAA divisions to be nominated. “I had to go through an application process. I had to list all of my accomplishments (academic and athletic) an community service work. It was a long list. Now, they narrow it down and a it goes to a national committee.”
The nominees competed in 20 sports across all three NCAA divisions, including 251 from Div. I, 131 from Div. II and 199 from Div. III.
The Top 30 women, and the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year, will be announced at the annual award ceremony Oct. 28 in Indianapolis.