Donna Wertz played a key part in establishing the success of the Youngstown State Women's Basketball Program.
Wertz played for the penguins from 1988 through 1992 helping the team to a combined 74-37.
In her four-year career, she scored 916 career points, grabbed 500 rebounds, had 184 assists and 133 steals in 97 games played. For her career, she had 40 double-figure scoring games and eight double-doubles. Her 916 career points rank her 17th in school history in all-time points scored.
Her most impressive campaign was her senior year in 1991-92 where she scored a career-high 454 points while starting all 28 games for YSU.
The Penguins finished 19-9 overall and Wertz played a big part in that success.
She led the team in rebounding grabbing a career-high 229 boards. She averaged a team-best 16.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. She made a team-high 186 field goals on the year while attempting 417 shots, the ninth most in a season in school history.
For the season, she had 22 double-figure games, was YSU's leading scorer on 13 occasions and had seven double-doubles. Her season was highlighted by a 28-point 19-rebound performance against Cleveland State. She tallied career bests in assists (75), steals (46), blocks (10), and minutes played (879).
During her junior campaign, the Penguins had one of their most impressive year in school history posting a 24-4 mark. Included in the season was an 11-game winning streak. YSU closed out the year by winning its final six games as well. The .857 winning percentage of that team ranks third in school history.
Wertz was a key figure on the team as the sixth player scoring 195 points and grabbing 110 rebounds for the year. She also had 53 assists and 31 steals. Wertz played in 27 games and scored in double figures eight times.
Her sophomore season in 1989-90, she scored 194 points and grabbed 116 rebounds while YSU finished 17-10. Wertz finished third on the team in scoring and had 21 points on two occasions, including her first career double-double against Ohio. She also contributed 42 assists and 40 steals for the Penguins. She played in all 27 games making 15 starts.
Wertz's first season at YSU was cut short by a knee injury. In her first season, she scored 73 points and grabbed 45 rebounds while playing in 15 games and making five starts. She finished the year with 16 steals and 14 assists as YSU finished 14-14.
She came to Youngstown State after being a first-team all-state performer at Cleveland Central Catholic High School. She was a standout athlete as a four-year starter in basketball, volleyball, and softball at Central Catholic.
She earned degrees in Marketing and Management from Youngstown State and credits her parents for all their support during her athletic and academic career.
Wertz resides in Northfield Center, Ohio, where she is a retirement plan specialist for the 401(K) retirement division of Charles Schwab.
