Libby Stump had offers from 15 women’s basketball programs within four days of entering the transfer portal on March 28 — mostly from NCAA Division I schools. The former University of Montana guard chose Division II Western Washington University.
Stump, a two-time state champion with Lynden Christian High School from 2018–22, couldn’t shake the pull of home. She wanted to play basketball in front of her family and friends again.
Western head coach Carmen Dolfo’s pitch to Stump was the icing on the cake.
“I had a lot of really good conversations with Carmen. I just loved her,” Stump said. “[To] have the opportunity to go potentially win a national championship, I just couldn’t turn that down. There’s nothing else in the portal that was speaking to me as much as that.”
Stump’s high school resume is what originally put her on the radar of Division I schools. She was a bona fide top-level player, as evidenced by her 2022 honors: 1A state tournament MVP and Washington State Girls Basketball Coaches Association (WSGBCA) 1A Player of Year.
Stump displayed her ability to make difficult shots in big moments by sinking the game-winning shot in overtime of the 2022 1A state championship.
She then became Montana’s first true freshman to play a full season (30 games) and average 10 points per game since 2001–02.
But everything changed when she suffered the first major injury of her career as a sophomore.
On Dec. 6, 2023, Stump went down late in the first quarter of a home game against Loyola Marymount University after shooting a jumper near the free-throw line. She was helped off the court, unable to put any weight on her leg.
Stump tore the ACL, both menisci and strained the MCL in her left knee. Five games into the season, she was done.
“I just blew my whole knee up,” Stump said. “I’ve never been hurt before, and it is so hard … you learn a lot about yourself [from] an injury.
“Every time there was a game, this might sound dramatic, but it’s literally like your heart breaks all over again. I missed it so much.”
The silver lining was that Stump preserved her sophomore eligibility. She would have had to play 10 games to lose it. So she still has three seasons of college basketball ahead of her.
The injury forced Stump to evaluate what she wanted out of the final three years, she said. At the top of the list was enjoying the game and being close to home.
“I just really wanted something completely different,” Stump said. “I really want to have the joy of the game come back for me and that was what Western was.”
Dolfo reassured Stump Western’s program would have her back as she continued to recover, and Stump’s visit to campus solidified her decision. She announced her transfer to Western on Thursday, April 25.
Some familiar faces are on Western’s roster. Riley Dykstra, who will be a senior with the Vikings next season, was a junior at LC in 2018–19 when Stump won her first state title as a freshman. Demi Dykstra, a freshman at Western last season, was on the 2021–22 championship team at LC when Stump was a senior.
Aspen Garrison, Dolfo’s daughter who is entering her senior season, was close friends with Stump in middle school and was a regular opponent at Sehome High School. Garrison also transferred to Western from Division I Saint Mary’s College.
“I’m so excited to go play with them again and chase something special,” Stump said.
Stump knows she is forfeiting a potential standout career at the Division I level and isn’t bothered by it. She plans to apply what she learned to her upcoming Western career.
“[Division I basketball] was so challenging at times — the mental side of it, the emotional side of it, the physical side of it. You just got tougher,” she said. “I have two years of college basketball under my belt. Now let’s go and try to do something awesome with it.”
After finishing classes at Montana on Friday, May 3, Stump will drive back to Whatcom County. She will report to Western on May 6.
Connor J. Benintendi is a former CDN sports reporter, send tips and information to newstips@cascadiadaily.com.
