WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Whitman College's women's basketball program will host the 8th Annual Kim Evanger Raney '02 Memorial Classic on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 13–14 at the Sherwood Athletics Center. Corban (Ore.) University, Walla Walla University and Whitworth University, along with the host Missionaries, comprise the teams that will be competing in the Classic.
Evanger Raney passed away on March 17, 2007, from injuries sustained in a bicycling accident while she was vacationing near Palm Springs, California.
A psychology major at Whitman, Kim was working as a human resources manager for an online media company at the time of her passing at the age of 26.
She is survived by her husband, Patrick Raney; her parents, Heidi and Marc Evanger; and her younger brother, David, and younger sister, Kaley.
Alumnae, head women's basketball coach
Michelle Ferenz and a few of the College's administrators sought out a plan to honor Evanger Raney and came up with the Classic which fielded its first competition in December 2007.
Kim's legacy as a passionate leader and a caring friend lives on through the Classic, the
Kim Evanger Raney Foundation and the many lives she personally impacted.
Her arrival at Whitman followed a stellar prep basketball career at Issaquah (Wash.) High School, where she was the 1998 class valedictorian and averaged 18.2 points per game during her senior season. Evanger Raney capped her senior season by earning Class 3A Most Valuable Player honors in the KingCo Conference.
A 5-foot-10 forward Kim enjoyed a fine four-year basketball career at Whitman despite a series of chronic leg injuries. She led the Missionaries in rebounding each of her four seasons, collecting 531, while scoring 593 points. Her career totals also include 132 steals and 42 blocked shots.
As Kim began her last season in the fall of 2001 Ferenz arrived on campus for her first season as Whitman's head coach. Ferenz remembers Kim as the "leader" and "toughest competitor" on that year's team.
"Kim had suffered multiple knee injuries, and by the time she was a senior she was playing in a lot of pain," recalls Ferenz. "But she never complained and never wavered in her commitment to the team and her love for the game. She just accepted the situation and had a very good senior season.
"Kim was also and exceptional student," Ferenz noted. "It was not uncommon for a professor to stop me on campus, knowing that I was her coach, and comment on how much they enjoyed having her in class."
Ferenz treasures her many memories of Kim. "She embraced life, and she had a great sense of humor. She always had something positive – and usually funny – to say. It is hard to put into words what a wonderful person Kim was, and how much she is missed.
"In my first season as a college coach she was a blessing, a true leader who made her teammates better on and off the court," said Ferenz. "She epitomized the type of player and person I needed to build a winning program at Whitman. In that way, she continues to influence my recruiting and coaching each and every day."
Cathy Crosslin '89, who played basketball at Whitman, was the program's coach Kim's first two seasons, and for many years prior to that coached a girls select team in the Seattle area. "I had the honor of coaching and mentoring Kim throughout her lifetime; I think she was 12 when we first met," said Crosslin during Kim's memorial service which attracted about 1,500 people to the Crossroads Bible Church in Bellevue, Washington. "I watched her grow into a confident, intelligent and beautiful woman, consumed with a passion for life.
"Kim glowed with passion and faith," Crosslin remembers. "She was radiant and drew people to her. Many call her a rock, but she was really more like a magnet. Kim drew all types of people to her, and then truly blessed them with her presence, because nothing Kim ever did was about her; it was about God and the person God wanted her to become. People felt best about themselves when they were around Kim."
Now a Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President with Gordon Graham and Company in Bellevue, Crosslin also described Kim as "astoundingly beautiful yet amazingly humble. Her beauty flowed from within, and when you looked in her eyes you could see that she was a woman filled with love."
As a player Kim was both competitive and fun-loving, Crosslin recalls. "She was one of my serious players, yet by far the goofiest. I cannot tell you how many times I tried to remain serious during practices and games, only to burst out in laughter at one of her antics."
Kim's serious side showed most often during games. "She was a fierce competitor, the ultimate team player, and an example to all of what it means to be dedicated, committed and loyal," Crosslin said. "(Kim) played through all kinds of pain and never complained. At one time her sternum was cracked during a close game, and she drilled me those intense, beautiful blue eyes and demanded that I put her back into the game. Don't worry, I didn't do it, but -- I won't lie -- I was tempted."
High standards were part of Kim's approach to basketball and life in general. "Kim refused to accept anything but the best from herself," stated Crosslin. "She came to me on more than one occasion to ask that I yell at her more during practice and games. Unfortunately, though Kim could handle it, it scared the other players. She wanted me to continue to raise my expectations so that she would raise her performance. What Kim didn't know is that by knowing her, I raised expectations of myself as a woman and as a friend."
The honor of memorializing Evanger Raney in 2014 falls to the Missionaries, Warriors, Wolves and Pirates. Whitworth and Corban square off Saturday at 4 p.m. with Walla Walla U. and the M's following at 6 p.m. Sunday's contests begin at noon as Whitworth takes on WWU, with Whitman and Corban closing out the Classic with a 2 p.m. contest.
