PITTSFIELD, Mass. – When seven former players were enshrined in the Berkshire County High School Girls Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday, their numerous accomplishments were chronicled.

 

Not surprisingly, some of their crowning achievements – 1,000th career points, Berkshire County MVPs and all-Western Massachusetts recognitions – came in their junior and senior years of high school.

 

Then, there was Pittsfield High graduate Dasen Woitkowski.

 

“Desan played varsity her freshman and sophomore years, missing all of her junior year and half of her senior year with an ACL injury” Hall of Fame Board member John Vosburgh related. “Going through her bio, if she hadn’t gotten hurt, her statistics would have been off the charts.”

 

Instead, Woitkowski showed off the charts resilience and dedication to the sport.

 

Overcoming her high school setbacks, Woitkowski went on to score more than 1,000 career points at Smith College, where she was a two-sport athlete and was named the school’s Athlete of the year in 2003 and ‘04 before playing semi-pro basketball in Denmark.

 

“Today, we celebrate not just an athlete but a testament to what it means to persevere, to rise after fall and to never let adversity define your story,” Woitkowski’s sister Jaclyn said of Desan. “Grit, resilience, perseverance and humility explain, perfectly, Desan Woitkowski. They are the foundation of her journey.

 

“From the moment she stepped onto a court, a field or even a snow-covered driveway under a floodlight, she didn’t just play. She battled. She outworked, outlasted and outshined.”

 

Some of the brightest stars of the last few decades of Berkshire County high school sports took their place in the Hall on Saturday at Proprietors Lodge as it welcomed its 12th class.

 

Drury’s McKensie Brooke DiGennaro, Hoosac Valley’s McKenzie and Riley Robinson, Lee’s Terri Salinetti Labrecque and Lenox’s Debbie Carey Decker and Peggy Steuerwald joined Woitkowski alongside coach Mark Kaley of Wahconah and contributor Bill Robinson, whose Berkshire Mountaineers AAU program has helped raise the bar for girls basketball in the county for 15 years.

 

As the more than 100 previous entrants into the Hall of Fame demonstrate, the bar already was pretty high.

 

Kaley, who coached junior varsity girls under legendary coach Boog Powell, a member of the Hall’s inaugural class in 2013, told a story that showed just how tough the county can be.

 

“Back in 2002, we went to the state finals,” Kaley said. “We actually had three teams from the the Northern Berkshire Division represent at the state finals: Wahconah, Lee and Pittsfield.

 

“But during the state semi-finals, we played Gardner. Gardner was 23-0 going into the game. We were 17-7. The Gardner coach was quoted in the paper leading up to the game and after that one of his greatest challenges was convincing his team that they were playing a seven-loss team that was a legitimate team. His girls were looking at us saying, ‘This team has lost seven games. We’re 23-0.’

 

“What those girls didn’t understand was the competition that we played throughout the year in Berkshire County.”

 

The competitive spirit was strong in all the former high school athletes honored on Saturday.

 

Bill Robinson had a front row seat – figuratively – to watch the spirit displayed by McKenzie and Riley on the basketball court. As he explained on Saturday, his actual seat was usually at the top of the bleachers, where he preferred to watch the games in relative solitude.

 

One time, he had to leave his perch mid-game.

 

“We were playing a state semi-final game at AIC in 2019, I think it was,” Robinson said. “It was a physical, physical game, and [Riley] is as physical as they come. At half-time, I see her running into the locker room area, and I see this big hulk of a guy in black and yellow grab her. And I’m like, ‘Who the hell is that?’

 

“It bothered me, so I went down and said, ‘Excuse me, sir. I saw you grab my daughter. Did she do something wrong?’ He said, ‘Oh, no. I just want to tell you that I’m the football coach here at AIC, and we want to give her a scholarship to play safety for us next year.’ “

 

Riley was part of the first Hoosac Valley team to win a girls state championship, something the Hurricanes have done three more times – most recently six days before Saturday’s ceremony – in the years since.

 

McKenzie Robinson, who later served as an assistant coach at her alma mater, played in the first of nine Hoosac Valley teams to go to the state final, starting in 2014.

 

She talked about why her dad, a longtime boys varsity coach at Hoosac Valley, belongs in the girls Hall of Fame.

 

“He saw the potential not only we had, but a bunch of Berkshire County girls basketball players,” McKenzie said. “This is why he began an AAU program for the Berkshires.

 

“I took on a JV coaching job and continued to grow and learn from my dad and coach Holly McGovern. He was right there educating me and making sure I not only coached but I made these players become better students and kids in our communities. He always saw and continues to see the bigger picture beyond basketball.

 

“I don’t know if we ever told you,” McKenzie continued, addressing her father directly. “But as soon as we stepped on the court, whether it was in high school or college, just to warm up, we would always look in the corner of the bleachers to make sure you were there. You never missed a game. You made it work, and we appreciated all that you do.”