Dena Droste

Dena Droste, a 2011 DeWitt graduate, was a two-sport letter-winner in basketball and golf.  She is DeWitt’s second all-time leading scorer in girls basketball with 1,147 career points.  She averaged 19.8 points per game as a senior before an ACL tear ended her high school career with several games remaining and leaving her just 18 points shy of the girls record and 34 short of the school record in scoring.  She holds school records for most three-pointers made in a single game (6), a single season (42), and a career (152).  She led DeWitt to four league championships, one district title, and one regional championship with an impressive 73-13 overall record.  As a sophomore she helped lead the 25-2 Panthers to the Class B Final Four in 2008-2009.  The four-time All-League honoree earned All-Area recognition as a sophomore and a spot on the Lansing State Journal (LSJ) “Dream Team” as a junior and a senior.  She was a two-time Associated Press First Team All-State honoree and was named Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan Academic All-State twice.  Droste also played four varsity golf seasons on teams that finished in the top five in the state all four years, including the 2007 Division 2 State Championship.  She earned All-League, All-Area, and All-State recognition all four years.  The Panthers won four straight league championships.  Droste placed in the top five individually at states as a junior and a senior and was a member of the LSJ “Dream Team” her senior year.  In 2011, she was named DeWitt’s Female Athlete of the Year and the LSJ Female Athlete of the Year, the only female athlete from DeWitt to receive that award.  Droste played college basketball at both Kent State University and Ferris State University.  Her 2013-2014 season was her best, finishing the year as the Bulldogs’ second leading scorer before multiple knee injuries ended her career the following season.