NEW YORK (AP) -Anne Donovan is staying with the New York Liberty.
Donovan, who finished the 2009 season as the interim head coach, was hired on a permanent basis on Thursday.
``There's no question that Anne is one of the most respected coaches in our game,'' Liberty president and general manager Carol Blazejowski said in a statement. ``Her experience and leadership skills as both a player and a coach will be invaluable as we battle to get the franchise back to its proper place at the top of the WNBA.''
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Donovan, hired as an assistant before the season, took over when Pat Coyle was fired with the Liberty struggling at 6-11 at the midpoint of the season. New York was 7-10 under Donovan and finished last in the Eastern Conference with the second-worst mark in franchise history.
The Liberty missed the postseason for the fourth time, and the second time in four years.
``I am very excited to be returning to the Liberty and look forward to the challenges that lie ahead and have confidence that our team will be back on track next summer,'' Donovan said in a statement.
Donovan led the U.S. women to a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She was 138-128 as a WNBA coach with Indiana, Charlotte and Seattle. She left as the Storm's coach and director of player personnel after the 2007 season, compiling a 93-77 record in five seasons and leading Seattle to the league title in 2004.
Donovan, who starred at Old Dominion and earned Olympic gold medals as a player in 1984 and 1988, became the first person in USA basketball history to win Olympic gold as an athlete and head coach. She was also an assistant on Van Chancellor's staff for the 2004 team that won gold in Athens.
She was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 1995, and into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999. In 2005, Donovan became the first female coach in the WNBA to win 100 games.
