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player ready...Washington Mystics rookie Angela Dugalic was welcomed back to her alma mater, Maine West, on Friday like the champion she became in high school and college.
Dugalic, a 2020 graduate of the school in Des Plaines, led the Warriors to the Class 4A state title in 2019, helped UCLA win the national championship in April and then was picked by the Mystics in the first round of the WNBA draft barely a week later. She walked back into Maine West’s gymnasium during a homecoming assembly and was greeted by hundreds of screaming students and school staffers dressed in blue and yellow.
The applause grew louder and louder as Dugalic, the 2020 Ms. Basketball of Illinois, waved to the crowd and Tom Sochowski announced the school would retire the 6-foot-4 forward’s No. 32.
Dugalic’s teammates with the Mystics, who defeated the Chicago Sky 110-80 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago on Thursday, were there to celebrate her too.
“It’s surreal,” Dugalic said afterward. “It means a lot to have this much support.”
A framed Maine West jersey bearing Dugalic’s number was unveiled during the ceremony. She held it proudly as students rushed down from the bleachers to join her and pose for photographs.
The jersey will be displayed in a trophy case at an entrance to the gym. It’s the first time Maine West has retired a student-athlete’s number.
The number is still important to Dugalic, who wore it when she played for UCLA and for Serbia in the 2020 and 2024 Olympics and wears it on the Mystics.
Why did Dugalic choose it in the first place?
“It was the biggest jersey they had,” she said.
Maine West officials sought a way to celebrate Dugalic’s accomplishments in person after she was drafted, according to Brett Clark, a District 207 spokesperson. The Mystics’ game against the Sky created an opportunity.
“The schedule lined up perfectly,” Clark said.
Mystics center Lauren Betts also played with Dugalic at UCLA and, like Dugalic, was a first-round draft pick. As Betts watched Dugalic soak up the adoration on Friday, she said she’s “super proud” of her teammate.
“She’s just worked so hard,” Betts said.
Kim DeMarigny, who coached Dugalic and the Warriors to the 2019 state title, echoed that praise.
“She’s one of the hardest workers that we’ve ever had here,” said DeMarigny, who has retired from coaching and flew to Chicago from Tennessee for the ceremony.
Playing professional basketball “was (Dugalic’s) dream from the beginning,” DeMarigny said.